May The Odds
by AliAvian
Summary: My name is Maysilee Donner. I am seventeen years old. I have been chosen for the Hunger Games. The odds are not in my favor. 48 tributes. 1 winner. Let the Games Begin.
1. Chapter 1

**1**

_Running. Running._ _Just keep running._ It's all I could do. With my hands weaponless and my assassin close on my tail, I had no choice but to run. My lungs felt like they were about to burst, and the sweat trickling down my forehead blinded my eyes. But to stop now was to die. My blistered feet crunched loudly with each step as I trekked through the dense woods. I could hear him behind me- driven by anger and starvation. He grasped a sharp, bloody knife ready for his next victim: Me. I was dead meat. My family would be watching the moment the knife slit my throat in a bloody, gory death. Tears clouded my eyes. The only plan of escape I had in mind was a matter of life or death. But I knew I couldn't keep running forever.

I stopped dead in the midst of the dark woods. If I could be as silent as possible, he wouldn't be able to find me. In this midnight forest, the only sense of the hunter was sound. I slithered silently behind a tree. I had no idea where he could be. His footsteps had disappeared as mine had. It was dead silent in the woods. The only light source was the sliver of a distant moon behind the treetops, the only sound being the soft quick breaths I took in.

The cold was unbearable. My feet were bare and numb, and even in the intense darkness I could see my breath in the freezing air. My teeth clattered silently as my heart pounded against my chest. Relaxation was impossible. My mind raced with pure terror. I knew I didn't have a chance from the start. Among the twenty-four, there was a zero-percent chance of me making it out alive. Behind the tree I felt safe for the moment. His footsteps had disintegrated and there was no sign or sound of any movement. Was it true? Had I lost him? I slowly peeked my head out from behind the tree.

A sharp horrendous pain attacked my shoulder. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't even scream. My trembling hand slowly reached for the silver blade implanted in my left shoulder. I didn't have enough strength to yank it out. I kneeled down, feeling the warmth of my blood drown my filthy tattered clothes. The crunching of boots on dead leaves slowly approached my bowed head. With all the strength I had left, I glanced up as he smirked down upon me with a slight chuckle. He withdrew another silver knife from his coat.

"Didn't anyone ever tell you?" he began as he prepared to slice my neck. "You can run, but you can't hide." My eyes slowly closed tight with tears as my brother brought the knife down upon my throat.


	2. Chapter 2

**2**

"Mays? Come on, Mays." In an instant my eyes were wide open and my head shot up. My body was drenched in sweat and the sheets of my bed were sticking to my thighs. I let out a couple long sighs before I retrieved my breath to speak. "You alright there?" my brother patted my back sympathetically as he sat down beside me on the edge of my bed. "The dreams again?" I just nodded, and replied with a subtle 'yeah'.

I could tell by the look in my brother's eyes that he wanted to say something to comfort me. But it was the same every year. I'd been having these dreams for the past week as I do every year; these dreams of being brutally murdered in a tournament to the death. These dreams that every year become reality for twenty-four innocent kids. "This…this one was real bad. This time it was you, Yule." I huffed. "I just…I can't stop thinking about them. I mean, I've made it through five Reapings. You'd think I'd learn to realize my odds of being picked are just as everyone else's?"

Yule didn't reply. I mean what could he say? _There's no reason to worry? It'll all be over soon? It's just a dream? _The fact is we know what goes on in the arena. We are forced to watch the Games every year. We know that the odds aren't in anyone's favor. In the arena, anything could happen. And today, anyone could be picked as tribute. Yule wiped away the sweat on my forehead and brushed my long blonde hair away from my face with his fingertips. "Come on, ma's got a fresh loaf of bread in the kitchen with your name on it." Yule gave me a hand up and guided me into the kitchen. Everything about my older brother is so admirable. He's intelligent, witty, and the nicest caring guy in all of District 12. So having a dream in which my brother is hunting me down to slice my throat with a knife? ….There are no words to describe how horrifying.

"Morning sweet pea." My mother said looking up from her journal. She sat at the far side of the kitchen table next to Noraleen, my fraternal twin sister, who was already dressed and ready for the day. Dad was already in the mines at this time. The atmosphere of the kitchen didn't brighten my mood one bit. Living in the poorest region of Panem resulted in dreary, tight housing; even worse in The Seam- the 'poorer' part of the District. Our house consisted of five small rooms- the kitchen, my parent's room, a small bathroom, me and Noraleen's room, and a sitting room transformed into Yule's room. When we were all young, Noraleen, Yule and I shared the same room, but now with him being twenty and Noraleen and I being seventeen, we of course needed our own space. I took a seat opposite of my mom and helped myself to a thick slice of bread from the plate in the middle of the table. "You sleep alright?" she asked. She no doubt could see the restless look painted across my face. I shrugged, but she understood. "Don't fret. Eat your bread." my mother dismissed the subject. I crammed the last of the slice into my mouth.

"I guess I'm going to get ready." I sighed. Back in my room I changed into the tedious skirt and dull blouse I wear every year on the day of the Reaping. Why we even have to dress up for such an occasion is beyond me. I pulled back my hair into a tight bun and slid on my mom's old pair of flats. In all honesty, I looked ridiculous. My kind of style didn't include skirts or slipper shoes. I'm happy with a pair of hiking boots and anything simple and comfortable. After helping myself to another slice of the loaf from the kitchen, I decided to go out and get some fresh air. Our home always felt so musty. I hadn't realized how early it was until I stepped outside. I thought I had slept in, but the sun was still arising beyond the forest in the distance yonder the fence. The morning was quiet and moderate, and I decided to take a walk down to the square, just to pass the time. A stage was already being set up, and Peacekeepers were already roaming the streets. There were always loads of Peacekeepers on Reaping Day. I watched from a distance as Mayor Undersee assembled a podium for whatever insane escort the tributes of District 12 would have this year. The escort has the job of drawing the tributes names at the Reaping and subsequently escorting them to the Capitol. "Sickening, isn't it?"

I whipped my head around to see Pazima, my best friend, right over my shoulder. I let out a relieving breath. "Will you quit that?" I laughed.

"Quit what?" she smirked.

"Make some noise when you move, will ya? You freak me out when you sneak up on me like that."

"Yeah, yeah, Maysilee." she rolled her eyes. From a distance Pazima and I continued to watch in disgust as preparations were made for the Reaping. "Come on, let's get out of here. We'll see enough of this later. Slowly sauntering around The Seam, Pazima and I took turns kicking a large unnatural stone along the gravel path. Trying to talk about stupid things like school, hunting, and our families was useless at the moment. We couldn't escape the thought of the Games. "What do you think they'll have this quarter?" Pazima asked me, not expecting a legit answer.

"I don't know." I muttered, not wanting to imagine. Twenty-five years ago was the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Hunger Games. To mix things up a bit, they deemed the Games that year as 'The Quarter Quell' and the Reapings had a bit of a twist. The people of the District voted_ themselves_ on who they wanted to send as tributes. I couldn't imagine having to _vote _for who I wanted to see get brutally murdered on live television. Chills ran down my back at the thought. Today was the reaping for the second Quarter Quell. God only knows what sick, twisted plan the Capitol has planned for the tributes this year. "Hey, the Reaping's not for another couple hours. Wanna head to the pond?" I asked Pazima. She eagerly nodded her head. After climbing over the electric fence (which is never on), Paz and I took off to the woods to our secret hideout.

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"JERAMONO!" Paz didn't even bother to take her frilly dress off. She jumped right into the pond- ballet flats and all. Her short brown hair fell out from the ponytail and flopped in front of her face.

"Way to go, Pazima." I clapped sarcastically as she took a conceited bow in the middle of the pond. The pond was the only place where I could…relax. Paz and I had discovered it years ago when we were hiking the woods for roots and herbs. It became our favorite place- a place where we could just be ourselves and not worry about any secret cameras, or worry about saying the wrong thing. For a pond it was very clean, and always refreshing. The pond became our escape from reality, and we decided to always keep it our little secret. Not even Noraleen knew about it; not that she'd want to know. Noraleen and I are twins, sure, but we look nothing alike and our personalities are complete opposites. It's not that we don't like each other; it's just we like different things, and it's hard for us to hang around each other all the time. She's not a very outdoorsy person like Pazima and I. She would have no interest in the pond whatsoever.

I slipped off my flats and dipped my feet into the water. I debated on jumping in, but I didn't have much of a decision. "AH!"

Pazima yanked me in, giggling. "You weren't really going to just sit there on the edge like a wiener, were you?"

"Of course not, jerk!" I laughed while whipping slashes of water at her. Pazima always knew how to lift my mood. She was the most thoughtful, funny, and caring girl I've ever met. She would no doubt make a great healer– her dream job. After a half hour or so of hanging out in the pond, we decided it was about time to dry off and start heading back and. Going to the Reaping in soaking wet clothes might upset the Peacekeepers.

"By the way," Pazima began as I ringed out my skirt and she put her shoes back on. "These shoes are great, much better than my old ones." I glanced down at my feet and noticed I had Pazima's tight fitting shoes and she was putting on mine.

"Mrs. Pazima Everdeen, give me back my shoes this instant. Don't make me tell _him _your secret." I threatened.

"DON'T CALL ME THAT!" she hushed me down with red cheeks. "How many times do I have to tell you- I don't love Tobiah Everdeen! Okay…so I do. But…but...I'll kill you if you tell him!" She tossed my shoes back at me.

"My lips are sealed." I winked as we headed back to The Seam.


	3. Chapter 3

**3**

"Where have you been? And why is your hair damp?" exclaimed Noraleen when I walked through the door. "The Reaping's in five minutes. Mom and Dad and Yule are already down there. They told me to wait for you; we're gonna be late."

"And that's a bad thing?" I joked.

"Do _you _want to be killed by the Peacekeepers?"

"You know, that's a really ironic name- 'Peacekeepers'".

"This is serious, okay?" Noraleen said irritated. "Just, come on. Let's go." Noraleen pulled me by the arm out the door and we sped walked to the square. We just made it in time and joined in on the left side where the girls were lined up. I glanced around and saw Pazima close by, and my parents as well as Yule were in a separate section where those too old to be in the drawing sat. I took a deep breath and squeezed Noraleen's hand. "Hey, Yule's made it through seven Reapings. We've got two more years to make it through. We'll be fine." Nora whispered. "There are over a hundred other girls here. Just keep that in mind." I nodded, but it didn't really help. Being older just meant we had a greater chance of being picked. Up on stage, this year's escort walked to the podium and introduced herself as Giovanna Lovett.

"Once again, the time's come to select the two tributes to represent District 12 in the annual Hunger Games." she announced a little too enthusiastically. "And this year, a very special Games will take place! I have with me, the envelope containing the extraordinary twist for the selection of tributes this year; The Second Quarter Quell." Giovanna eagerly opened the envelope and proclaimed the letter. All eyes widened and the anticipation was ridiculous.

"On the anniversary of the 50th Hunger Games," Giovanna began. "There shall be double the amount of tributes from each District." The crowd was speechless. Double the tributes from each district? …Forty-eight tributes. One arena. One winner. I put my hand to my chest to make sure my heart was still beating. Noraleen tighten her grip on my sweaty palm, and horror filled her eyes. Giovanna broke the awkward moment of silence.

"Well, well. This shall be quite interesting." she said smiling. The sicko. "Ladies first then!" She reached her frilly overdressed Capitol arm into the big glass bowl of girls' names. My name was in there five times. Five pieces of evenly folded paper. Giovanna picked up a single slip; slowly unfolded the paper.

"Maysilee Donner." My ears didn't lie. All eyes turned to me, and the Peacekeepers were already approaching me. My sister only tightened her hold on my hand. A tear rolled down my sister's face and she stared at me with her jaw dropped. "No" she mouthed. Pazima- she had the same look as my sister. There was nothing I could do. The Peacekeepers guided me to the stage. Giovanna began a clapping hand for me, and everyone followed out of respect. Out of the respect of the Capitol? Of course not. "Our first tribute- Maysilee Donner everyone!" Giovanna clapped. From the stage I saw Yule and my parents standing in the distance glaring in terror. My mom was already bawling her eyes out into my father's sleeve. Yule couldn't believe it. I was picked. I was going to the Hunger Games. Along with forty-seven other kids in a fight to the death. I didn't even notice Giovanna reaching for the next girl tribute's name in the bowl.

"Ahem." she cleared her throat. "Ezra Leordan." Giovanna called. Ezra? No… anybody but Ezra. Someone would for sure volunteer for her. They had to. But as the Peacekeepers guided her to the stage, the crowd remained silent and just watched in horror. It disgusted me. Ezra had no sisters- only an older brother, who watched his little sister cautiously climb the stairs to the stage. Finally he shouted out. "NO!" he screamed. All the other boys gasped and turned to him. He was in for it. Before he could start running, the Peacekeepers tackled him and held him back. "NO! EZRA!" he screamed, with tears flowing from his face. "Take me! I volunteer!"

Giovanna addressed sternly into the microphone, "And in what world, my dear, would it make sense that a boy volunteers in place for a girl?"

"This is insane. You're a monster. You know she has no chance! Everyone here knows she doesn't! You are a _monster_!" and on that note, the Peacekeepers kneed Ezra's brother in the stomach and dragged him out of the square. Ezra tried her best to remain calm. She took her place right next to me on the stage and kept her head bowed.

"Orion Garner!" Giovanna called after choosing from the boy's glass bowl. I knew Orion vaguely. He was eighteen; just a year ahead of me. Orion approached the stage with a strong fierce attitude. He took stand next to Ezra on the stage as the crowd clapped.

"And last, but certainly not least…" Giovanna exclaimed as she reached for the last tribute's name. "Haymitch Abernathy!" Haymitch I knew well. He was in my class. Haymitch walked to the stage emotionless and stood beside Orion. "And there you have it! The four young men and women to represent District 12 in the 50th Hunger Games. And may the odds be ever in your favor!"

May the odds be ever in your favor… a pretty nasty thing to say, really.


	4. Chapter 4

**4 **

"No, I can't take this, Maysilee." Noraleen pushed my offering back into my hand. "This is _yours._"

"I know it's mine." I said sadly. "But I'm probably not going to be allowed to wear it in the Arena. I don't want it to ever get lost either. So I want you to have it. Please take it, Noraleen." I took the brooch and pinned it to her blouse. My sister looked at me with clouded eyes. She took me in her arms and squeezed me tight.

"I love you." she cried. There was nothing else she could say. "I'll take good care of it." Noraleen gestured to the golden mockingjay pin. The pin my dad gave to me when I was six on Christmas. I never really knew exactly the reasoning for him giving me the pin, but I always had a particular liking to it. After a long hug, my sister finally released me and brushed her face dry. "I…I better go." Noraleen was brought out of the room by Peacekeepers, and I sat back in the chair trying to straighten myself out. My parents would probably be the next ones in; the next ones in to say their final goodbyes. After the goodbyes, Ezra, Orion, Haymitch and I would be escorted to the train to the Capitol. There would be days of interviewing and training, and then the day would come where we would be put in the arena in a fight to the death. Forty-seven innocent kids….will be dead in a matter of weeks. I held back my tears. _Crying was for the weak_, I tried to tell myself. _Crying solves nothing. Be brave. Be brave for my parents. For Yule, Noraleen, and Pazima. _

I looked up and Pazima stood in the doorway. "Maysilee." she whispered, taking me in her arms. "I…I can't believe…."

"Me either." is all I could say in return. Pazima didn't know what to say. She knew just as well as I did that this was the last time I was ever going to see her. I know I shouldn't think that way. I know I should think of the possibility I can win. "Pazima- when I come back," I began. Paz looked up at me with curious eyes. "I'm totally telling Tobiah about your secret crush." That earned a tear filled chuckle- from both of us.

"Maysilee, whatever you do, just promise me you'll never give up. Promise me you'll always stay brave and fight till the end." she said. I nodded.

"I promise."

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With all my goodbyes done, the time came to be escorted to the train. Giovanna led the four of us, being guarded by plenty of Peacekeepers of course, to the train station. The station's extremely run down with poor maintenance on account the only time it's ever used is for transferring the tributes to the Capitol each year. The shiny, high-tech Train looked way out of place in the dreary station. What made the whole scene look even more awkward was Coltrane Birch, standing in front of the station with his arms crossed. Coltrane was the last victor from District 12, which meant he was to be our mentor. From what I knew about him, he was a lunatic. I'd never really met him personally but I had heard plenty of rumors about him. Rumors about his gambling and drinking issues. He pretty much stayed locked up in his house in the Victor's Village and rarely came out. By the look of him I already didn't like him. I know it's wrong to be prejudice, but this guy was so drugged up.

"Fresh meat." Coltrane chuckled as we approached. Nobody laughed. Why would we? _Fresh meat? Like, seriously? _"Looks like I got four of you this year. Name's Coltrane Birch." _Duh, we know that, _I thought secretly. The middle-aged man reached out his hand to Haymitch Abernathy, who uncomfortably shook it.

"Haymitch." he replied monotony.

"Haymitch." Coltrane repeated while studying him. "You look to be a tough guy. Smart, too." Haymitch shrugged. Coltrane turned to Orion, "Your name?"

"Orion. Orion Garner." he said smugly. "Eighteen years old."

"Eighteen, eh?" Coltrane laughed. "Almost made it through the years, huh?" Orion's arrogant smile transformed into a frown. "You look like a hunter. Am I right?"

"I get out when I can." Orion replied. Coltrane turned to me.

"Maysilee." I answered before he even got to ask.

"You look like you've got spunk, girl." _Spunk?_ _That's what you're going with? "_And such a beautiful face. A shame, really." he shook his head disapprovingly.

"It's a shame you let yourself go." I back sassed, gesturing to his slightly overweight body. This earned a chuckle from Ezra. Coltrane, now a tad ticked off, whipped his head to Ezra.

"And your name?" Coltrane asked with his hand out for a shake.

"Ezra Leordan." she replied facing downward. Coltrane pulled back his hand.

"I suppose my hand shake is too good for you?" he laughed sarcastically.

Ezra lifted her head slightly. "I'm blind." she sighed. Coltrane looked blankly at Ezra and dismissed the subject. At least you could tell he felt guilty about calling her out. He knew her fate. Everyone knew her fate from the moment she was reaped. Orion, Haymitch, and I at least had a chance in the arena. But being sightless in the Games? Horrific, I know, but Ezra truly was done for. Worse, it saddened me that on top of being blind, she's only fourteen. And nobody took her place.

"Well." Giovanna stepped in to break the silence. "Why don't we take a look around the train, hm? We'll show you to your accommodations. And of course a splendid feast will be held this afternoon in the dining room! It's going to be grand!" Grand- that's a word that really pisses me off. It's such a Capitol world. It sounds so unnatural; like Giovanna goes out of her way to sound fancy and fake with a high-pitched strange accent. If I spoke like that, I'd hope someone would talk some sense into me. On top of that, Giovanna, as well as all the Capitol citizens, dressed absolutely ridiculous. She wore an obnoxious bright yellow dress that fit her body a little too tightly and clashed unpleasantly with her long wavy dark purple hair. I shiver with the thought of what my stylist is going to do to me when we arrive at the Capitol. When I die, I want to die as myself; not some overly-dressed-frilly-tattooed-colorful freak. Giovanna and Coltrane led us into the train. "Well now, ladies I will show you to your corridors and Coltrane will show you gentlemen to yours.

For a day and a half trip to the Capitol, they sure do know how to spoil their tributes. Sarcastically speaking, of course. Our rooms on the train were small and dark, but at least we each had our own bathrooms. "Some fine clothes have been hung in the wardrobe." Giovanna explained pointing to the closet in the corner of my temporary room. The feast will be served in an hour in the dining cart." She nodded her head and shut the door behind her. Peace at last. I threw myself face down onto the bed and closed my eyes. The train had already departed. I guess I would've cried some more, but I had no energy to. All I wanted to do was sleep. And never wake up. Just drift off into a distant land…a green sunny meadow…and just….sleep. KNOCK KNOCK. I was so close to falling asleep, too. I went to open the door, praying to God it wasn't Giovanna or Coltrane, and was surprised to see Ezra.

"Uh, hi Maysilee."

"Oh, hey Ezra." I replied. "Um, do you need any help with anything?" I asked awkwardly.

"Uh yeah- I can't find the light switch in the room."

"Oh here I'll show you," I said stupidly. "Wait- ….what?"

Ezra giggled. Tricked by a blind girl. "Very funny." I chuckled. "So what's really up?"

"I dunno." she sighed. "I guess…can I talk to you?"

"Of course." I shut the door behind her and we sat on the edge of my bed. Immediately Ezra buried her face into the palms of her hands. Ezra and I didn't know each other well, but I couldn't help but put my arm around her shoulder. There wasn't anyone else she could talk to in this situation but me. "Don't cry. Everything's going to be fine." I said trying to comfort her.

"I'm not scared for me." she replied. "It's my brother I'm scared for. Maysilee- when he stood up for me, what happened to him? What did the Peacekeepers do to him?"

I paused. "I don't know, Ezra." I admitted honestly. "They dragged him out of the square."

"They killed him." she shook her head angrily. "Those bastards killed my brother."

"You don't know that, I'm sure he's just fine." I tried to ensure her.

"They freaking killed him." Ezra repeated ignoring me. There was a loud knock on the door, and Giovanna stormed in. For once I was actually happy to see her, because I honestly didn't know what I was going to say to Ezra.

"There you two are." Giovanna said with her hands on her hips and tapping her foot. She ignored the fact that Ezra was crying and that we were clearly in the middle of something. "We've been waiting for you two. Dinner awaits."

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I'd never seen so much food in one place in all my life. The long buffet table in the dining room was heaving with hot steaming trays of all sorts. Despite my hatred toward the Capitol, my stomach growled loudly at the sight of the food and I felt my mouth watering. I filled my plate with a little bit of everything, and as I did I felt so guilty. My family would be eating left over squirrel meat tonight while I stuffed my mouth with…with who knows what this stuff was. I carried my plate to the dining table and took a seat next to Ezra. Orion placed a platter of food in front of her.

"It sure does smell good." she shrugged. I took a spoonful of a delicious smelling lamb stew. The flavors unfolded in my mouth and I dove my spoon back into the bowl. It was the tastiest thing I'd ever put in my mouth. I also helped myself to a slice of sweet apple pork and wild rice. I couldn't stop eating. I hated it. At Orion's laughter I looked up from my plate. Everyone at the round dining table- Coltrane, Giovanna, Haymitch, Orion, Ezra, and a few Peacekeepers were staring at me. I felt my cheeks turn red.

"You're eating as if you've never seen food before in your life." Orion said smiling. "Take it easy over there." I narrowed my eyes on him and then turned back to my food ignoring him.

"I don't blame her." Haymitch said standing up for me. "I don't suppose you can really call what we eat in District 12 'food'." Haymitch winked at me and I just felt even more embarrassed. After an awkward supper of filling our stomachs and listening to Giovanna go on and on about how 'marvelous the Capitol is', we were excused to go back to our rooms.

"Tomorrow is going to be a big, big day." Giovanna announced as the four of us began to disperse. "And you girls," she gestured to Ezra and me. "Don't forget- I told you that you both have wardrobes of fresh clothes in your rooms." I looked down at my reaping day outfit that I didn't bother to change in the half hour Giovanna gave us to ourselves. It probably still smelt like pond water. "Night Ezra." I yawned, turning to my room as she turned to hers.

"Night." she replied. Why bother saying '_good_ night'? I knew it wasn't going to be a 'good' night. My nightmares tonight were most likely going to be ten times worse.


	5. Chapter 5

**5**

_Pacing, pacing, pacing_. I must have walked back and forth across the room about a hundred times. I pulled back the shades and gazed out the window as the train sped along; waiting for the stupid sun to rise. Sleep was impossible… tossing and turning for hours with my mind racing with visions of the Games… the anticipation was killing me- I wanted to pull my hair out. My restless eyes were throbbing. I debated about going to talk to Ezra, but I didn't want to wake her up if she was sleeping alright. The longer I stayed in this room, the crazier I felt like I was getting. Part of me wanted to just break through the window and end it right now. But I already knew that the train was designed with unbreakable windows- there was no way for the tributes to escape. I flicked on the light in the bathroom and turned on the faucet. Splashing the cold water at my face made me feel a tiny bit better.

I creaked open the door and peeked my head out into the dim hallway. I needed to get out of this stupid room. The hallway was silent and the coast was clear of Peacekeepers. Barefoot and in a dreadful nightgown that was hanging in the wardrobe, I slowly staggered down the hall and headed toward the lounge of the train. The lounge was lit by the silver moon streaming through the large window.

"Hey." spoke a voice. I think I jumped at least three feet off the floor. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." Haymitch said from the corner of the lounge. I didn't even see him there. Well in my defense, it _was _dark, and I _was _kind of in a zombie-like trance.

I let out a deep breath. "It's okay." I muttered. "I, I didn't see you there." I released the grip I had over my heart. "Erm, uh, what are you doing up anyway?"

"I could ask you the same thing." Haymitch smirked. "Sleeping isn't really a possibility right now."

"You got that right." I eagerly nodded in agreement. I walked over and joined Haymitch on the corner window seat. We gazed out the window as the trees quickly sped away as the train raced toward the Capitol. "Have you gotten any sleep at all?"

"Nah." Haymitch replied while rubbing his droopy eyes. He paused and smiled slightly as if he wanted to say something. "Forty-eight tributes." he laughed silently.

"It's not funny." I murmured. "What difference is it going to make? How disgusting is the Capitol that they find it so entertaining to watch kids just…just murder one another? Every time I think about it I feel like I'm going to puke. What freaking difference is it going to make with double the freaking tributes?" Before I knew it, Haymitch had his palm over my mouth. I realized my voice was rising as I let my furious ranting get the best of me. "Sorry." I whispered guiltily. I darted my eyes to the door to see if I'd attracted any disturbed Peacekeepers.

"Don't apologize." Haymitch said, crossing his arms on his knees. "Actually, go ahead and keep ranting. Maybe the Peacekeepers will throw us off the train, and if we're lucky, we have a slight chance of surviving."

I couldn't help but chuckle slightly. I'd known Haymitch from school, but we had rarely ever talked before. I wish I had, because I think we could've been friends. It comforted me to be able to talk to someone, and the tone Haymitch used was soothing in some way. The way he talked sort of relaxed me; there was no nervousness detected in his voice.

"Hungry?" Haymitch offered me a roll of bread from his pocket that he obviously acquired from the buffet earlier. I took the piece and slowly nibbled on it. I wasn't hungry, I mean, how could I be hungry after that huge supper? But I ate the bread anyway, just to give me something to do; just something to do to keep my mind of the Games. "You know what sickens me the most?" I looked into his eyes. "The fact that, after fifty years, no one has had the courage to put an end to these Games. The fact that for fifty years we've had to watch kids murder each other. The question is _why_? Why does this go on?"

"Because one person has to start a rebellion. Even if it's just mentioning a rebellion, no one has the guts to. I mean, would you want to be the one to start a riot? Would you want to be the first tribute to go against the Capitol?" I said. "The Capitol _knows_ that we fear them. They _know _that nobody will ever have the courage to step up to put an end to the horror." I shook my head in revulsion. All of a sudden my heart froze. "Haymitch, you don't think they have surveillance cameras in here, do you?" My eyes whizzed around the room looking for any hidden cameras.

"I don't think so." Haymitch replied nonchalantly. "And who cares anyway? What are they going to do? _Kill us?_ But anyway, I think you should try to get at least _some _sleep. Both of us. Come on." Haymitch stood up off the window seat and gave me a hand.

"I know I'm not going to be able to sleep." I admitted. "I'm completely restless."

"Well at least your room isn't next to Coltrane's. His snoring is God awful. I think he's part beast." It wasn't even funny, but the way Haymitch said it cracked me up. Out came my hideous snorting. "What was that?" Haymitch hooted, almost falling on the ground. "Your…your laugh," he couldn't even speak. I thought he might start crying. "Your laugh is hilarious!"

"Shut up!" I jokingly slapped him continuously to get him to stop laughing. "My laugh isn't hilarious!"

"Okay, okay. You're right, you're right." Haymitch held up his hands in surrender, although he was still snickering. "I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night." I waved back. I hadn't even realized I said it, but perhaps maybe now it would be a 'good' night.

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I woke up to a sweet, savory smell. As my weary eyes slowly opened, my nose carried me out of bed. I needed to figure out what that scent was. Whatever it was, my mouth was already watering as the aroma seeped into my room from the dining hall. I hopped into a warm shower, and put on a simple pair of jeans, a black long sleeve, and hiking boots from the wardrobe. My hair was still dripping, but I had no interest at the moment to take the time to dry my long blond locks. I opened my door at the same time Ezra across the hall did.

"Oh my god, what is that scent?" Ezra moaned wistfully. "It's like, addictive."

"Let's go find out." I said smiling. I had actually gotten some sleep after talking with Haymitch last night. And worse- I had dreamed about Haymitch. Not nightmare-wise. It was a good dream. Or was it? Is it a good to have a dream of being with somebody that could be the one to kill you? Was I…falling for Haymitch? No. It was just a dream- it meant nothing. Haymitch and I barely knew each other. And it didn't matter anyway; my life expectancy was quickly shortening. I am going to die soon, and there's nothing I can do about it. Ezra and I followed our noses to the breakfast buffet in the dining room, where Giovanna, Coltrane, Orion, and Haymitch were already preparing their plates. As Ezra and I walked in, Haymitch smiled faintly to me, and I felt my cheeks go a little pink. _Stop Maysilee. Stop. _What was happening? Maybe it was just my dream affecting my head. I needed to forget about it. Haymitch is nothing more than another tribute.

"Morning ladies!" Giovanna said. She looked way too peppy for the morning. "It's going to be a big, big day! In another hour we'll be arriving at the Capitol!" Giovanna's perky mood really irritated me. "Did you two sleep well?"

"What's your definition of 'well'?" I heard Ezra murmur, ignoring Giovanna. Behind her extensive dark brown bangs I could see Ezra's gray and restless visionless eyes.

"I slept fantastic." Orion declared as he put a fork of eggs in his mouth. How Orion could be so arrogant is beyond me. Does he realize that he's going to an Arena for a fight to the _death?_ Instead he acted clueless, as if he just thought he was on vacation. I had a sudden urge to punch him in the face as he smugly stuffed his face and talked with Coltrane about his 'amazing hunting skills.'

"What is this?" Ezra said poking her dish with a fork. "It's fluffy."

"Pancakes, of course." Giovanna answered cockily, as she poured a sweet smelling syrup over her stack. The syrup- that's the aroma that was making my mouth water. I 'd never had anything like them, but the pancakes were delicious. Although, I didn't eat much; my stomach was still bloated from supper. Eating like this was strange and uncomfortable. My stomach had gotten so used to hunger, that having all this food available right in front of me was overwhelming.

"You've got to eat, sweetie." Coltrane annoyingly said to me as I pushed the rest of my breakfast away. "You're going to need the energy." Coltrane laughed at his own comment. A sudden rage took over me.

"That's all you've got to say?" I yelled, standing up. "We're going to be in a competition to the _death, _and the only advice you, our 'mentor', has given us is _to eat?_" I put air quotes around the term 'mentor'. "You honestly suck." I spat. "We've been on this train for a whole day and you haven't even bothered to talk to any of us! Some 'mentor' you are." And with that, I excused myself from the dining room, and returned to my own quarters. The truth was I didn't really care if Coltrane talked to us, but my rage with the Capitol was rising and his idiotic comment just blew me off the edge.

As I lay face down on the bed, there was a knock at the door. I groaned loudly and almost yelled 'GO AWAY', but I thought it could've been Ezra. If it was Coltrane or Giovanna, I don't think I'd have the strength to keep me from slapping them across the face. I hands in a tight grip, I flung open the door.

"You're not going to scream in my face, are you?" said Haymitch with a grin.


	6. Chapter 6

**6**

I blinked and looked at Haymitch vacuously; surprised that he came to see me. "What is it?" I said a little too harshly than I planned. Haymitch crinkled his eyebrows. "Sorry." I apologized. "But I mean….is it just _me_ he's annoying? He's our _mentor_ for crying out loud! You think a _mentor _would be at least trying to get us mentally prepared for the games?" I was about to continue on with my ranting when Haymitch put his hand over my mouth. I stared at him insulted.

"Do you notice that when you start raging your voice gets louder and louder?" He snickered. "I wouldn't want to be around a pissed off _you_ in the Arena." Haymitch removed his hand from my jaw-dropped mouth. I couldn't find the words to argue back at him. "Maysilee, Coltrane knows just as much about the Arena as we do. What kind of useful advice can he actually give us?"

I glared with an awkward pause, and then sighed. "I don't know Haymitch. Just…something…anything."

"Here's my advice, Maysilee. Stay alive." Haymitch shrugged and turned his back, shutting the door behind him. I stood in the darkness of my room with my jaw still half dropped. _Stay alive? _No duh. Though the more I thought about it, the less stupid it seemed. Staying alive was all I could do. Sure I could hide, or go out and kill a ton of tributes, but in the end it's all just ways to stay alive. Or maybe Haymitch was meaning something deeper? What is the definition of 'alive' exactly? Surviving versus living….there _is_ a difference. It may not be what Haymitch implied, but I took his advice seriously. Staying alive- it might not mean actually making it out of the Hunger Games alive. I must do whatever it takes to stay alive; to never give up; to never become a portrayal of the Capitol. I will die in pride- I will die as myself. I am not a monster. I will not stoop to the pathetic level of the Capitol. Like I promised Pazima- I will always stay brave and fight till the end.

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That afternoon the train arrived at the station. "Welcome to the Capitol of Panem!" Giovanna announced as she slid open the door for the four of us, as well as Coltrane. I can't even describe what it was like. You might as well have dropped me off on entire different planet. One day you're in a place like District 12, and the next day you're in a high-tech, largely populated sky-scraping city. Orion's eager grin as he gazed at the view of the city was ridiculous.

"Wow. This place is…just, wow. I already like it." he laughed jokingly. _Earth-to-Orion, you're not a freaking movie star! You're a freaking tribute for a death tournament!_ I thought while shaking my head in repulsion.

As Giovanna began lecturing to Orion about the 'oh-so spectacular sites and achievements of the Capitol', I nudged Ezra, who stood expressionless. "Be happy you can't see this place." I whispered. "And be extremely happy you can't see Giovanna's choice of clothes today." Ezra snickered in return.

"I feel…I don't know. It's like, the surroundings. The smells, the sounds, and the sense; this place just feels strange to me. Like, sterile." she whispered.

"I know how you feel. I guess I didn't know what to expect of the Capitol. I've seen it on television, but actually being here…it's like another world." I said.

"Another world- that's a new one." I whipped my head to the right and saw a young man leaning against an archway about five meters from me. How did he hear me in my whispered voice anyway? The man smiled a pearly white grin. His skin was flawless- a sienna shade. His coffee hair was parted to the left in a flip over his eye. He wore a navy suit with gold seams and bronze buttons. As he approached us, the man extended a hand to Giovanna. "Long time no see, Ms. Lovett."

"Ah! Well if it isn't Pindarus Caverly! You haven't changed a bit!" Giovanna pulled him toward and kissed him on the cheek.

"I can say the same about you." Pindarus replied gesturing to Giovanna's slim body. I could've sworn I heard Haymitch jokingly pretend to puke as Giovanna and Pindarus reunited. "So this is District 12 this year, eh?" he turned to face us, still keeping a friendly smile. I couldn't tell if his smile was real or not. You can just tell when someone's smile is fake. But Pindarus' seemed sincere.

"Yes, yes. These are they." Giovanna introduced us. "Our strong gentlemen Orion and Haymitch, and our brave girls Maysilee and Ezra."

"Pleased to meet you all," Pindarus said as he shook our hands. "My name's Pindarus Cavelry; I'm going to be your stylist. For the interviews and such."

I glanced over and saw Orion rubbing his chin where he had a prickly beard starting. "And this is going to include...?" Orion asked Pindarus cautiously.

"Don't worry. We're not going to tattoo you or pierce you, or anything to the extremes. Simply clean you all up a bit…get you fitted in appropriate wear for the interviews. Purely impress the audience as simply as we can." The way Pindarus said it was peculiar. I could see sympathy in his eyes as he scanned over the four of us. I knew then that Pindarus was not going to be like the other Capitol citizens. Compared to Giovanna and the other publics busily strutting around the station waiting for their trams to arrive, Pindarus appeared to be the most normal looking. He lacked some of the outrageous styles I was seeing. His garments weren't as bizarre as others were. Some citizens clearly had done a lot of surgery on their bodies to be kept up with what they thought was in fashion. Pindarus didn't look as if he had done any procedures to his body. I could see a black tattoo swirling up the side of his neck, but that was really it. And the tattoo didn't even look that bad. "Now," he began, interrupting my thoughts. "We have much to do and little time. Especially with twice as many of you, we better get started. My stylist team and I will get a going on you guys as soon as possible. Follow me."

For a split second, I thought about making a run for it. Three armed Peacekeepers marched behind us as we followed Pindarus onto a tram. Three armed Peacekeepers trained and accustomed to this job. Even if I had managed to escape, where the hell would I go anyway? I would be lost in the maze of the skyscrapers that made up the Capitol. They would find me in an instant, and probably kill me right then and there for rebelling.

Looks like I had no choice but to go get all tailored up.

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I was naked. Shivering and extremely uncomfortable, my body formed a layer of goose-bumps as I stood motionless with my arms extended in the white room. Pindarus circled me continuously. He rubbed his chin while he examined my figure with his eyebrows creased. The room was sterile and almost completely empty. There was me, Pindarus and one of his assistants he introduced as Labelle, who was leaning against the wall waiting for instructions. There was a long table against the opposite wall, next to a bureau with different sizes of scissors, razors, electric combs, and other tools scattered on top of it. The bright windowless white room was overwhelming me, despite its simplicity. Pindarus was making soft hums. "Hm," he kept repeating as he studied my form. "You can put your arms down." I dropped my tired arms in relief. Pindarus then lifted up my chin and stared into my hazel eyes, smiling. "Your eyes are beautiful." I blushed out of embarrassment. "And your hair-" he gently lifted a lock of my long blond hair. "Perfect. Absolutely stunning. Labelle, bring a pair of scissors." Labelle, who had extremely short violet-dyed hair and many piercings up her neck, approached with a pair of silver clippers in her hand. A wave of panic flooded over me.

"I thought you just said my hair was perfect?" I exclaimed. "Why are you going to cut it?"

"Relax- I'm just going to trim the dead ends." Labelle laughed as she began to snip. "Honey, you could _not _pull off this doo. Trust me on that." she indicated to her hair. After the trimming of my hair came the waxing. Pindarus had laid me across the long table and waxed me of every single prickle of hair on my body besides those coming out of my skull and the two brows above my eyes. Silly as it seems, I was colder. As Pindarus waxed, Labelle was working on my hands and feet. She grinded down my fingernails and polished my skin. I felt fake, like a porcelain doll. As they worked, I was slowly losing my identity of District 12. _No. Never. I will never lose my identity. They can do whatever they want to my body. But they can't do anything to my mind. I will not become a model of the Capitol._


	7. Chapter 7

**7**

Soft. Smooth as a new born baby's skin. I continued to stroke my polished legs as I patiently waited for Pindarus to return. Wearing a fluffy white bathrobe and slippers while I sat beside Ezra on a sofa made it easy for me to take my mind off the Games. Relaxed and squeaky clean, it was hard to believe I was going into the Arena in a mere few days.

"I feel like I'm in a completely different body." Ezra said as she rubbed her sensitive fingers down her shaven legs. "But in a good way." she added. "Where's Pindarus?"

"I think he's just finishing up with the guys'." I answered while braiding a thin lock of clean hair by my right ear. Always my right ear. It was just a random habit I had, braiding. In school, at home, while lying in bed. Pazima would always make fun of me for it. She'd call me 'Braidsilee'. I didn't care though; in fact I laughed with her.

"OK!" Labelle burst into the room with a wide grin. "Since Pindarus is taking an eternity with the boys, he put me in charge of getting you two dressed for the interview." Labelle held up two coal-black colored dresses. They were identical: a single one inch strap on the left shoulder and sequins from the bottom slowly dissolved as my eyes moved up the dress. Expecting the traditional coal-miner attire, I was shocked. The dresses weren't exactly what I'd call stunning, but they were far better than what I had expected. Simply classy. "How are these? Picked them out myself!" Labelle said with an eager smile.

"Very nice." I said politely nodding my head.

"Completely gorgeous." Ezra exclaimed sarcastically, her sightless gaze on Labelle's shoes.

Labelle chuckled. "Don't worry sweet, you'll be striking in this dress. It's quite comfortable too."

"Who says I'm worried? You could put me in the ugliest clothes in all of Panem and I could care less." Ezra shrugged. "I'll take your word for it."

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Two hours later, I finally figure out how to walk in high heels. After taking a tram to a huge Capitol television studio, Orion, Haymitch, Ezra and I are led to a back room behind stage with a door labeled '12'."Well, we'll see you out there." Pindarus, Labelle and another stylist I guessed who helped with the guys waved us goodbye and shut the door behind, while I noticed Coltrane was nowhere to be found. The four of us stood there awkwardly in silence. Orion and Haymitch both wore the traditional coal-miner outfits, while Ezra and I had on the short black dresses and dreadful high heels. A television on the wall came to life with the face of Caesar Flickerman, a young man who's been doing the interviewing for a few years now. And thus the interviews began. A boy from District One came from behind stage and took a seat next to Caesar. The interview wasn't that long. I mean, I didn't expect it to be too long on account he has to go through forty-eight tributes. Plus, this was only the first interview day. The second interviews would be longer with more talk about our ratings. On the screen another District 1 tribute came to stage as the first one left.

"Looks like they're going in order of Districts." Orion said stupidly as he collapsed on the sofa in the room and kicked up his feet on the coffee table. "We'll be back here for a while."

"On that note," Ezra said as she literally kicked off her high heels. "I'm sick of falling on my face. Whoever invented these shoes should die. Should die a painful death. Actually, why don't we just put them in the Arena?" We all laughed… a short, sweet bonding moment for District 12. Haymitch Ezra and I joined Orion on the couch and watched the interviews in silence. Occasionally Orion would make a smug comment about a tribute, but he gradually stopped. Every time a new tribute came on stage for their interview, my heart sank deeper and deeper. Even if they appeared arrogant or cruel, I couldn't help but feel bad for them. For all of us. For every kid who ever had to be on that stage. The interviews were going by quickly, and before we knew it, it was almost time for District 12. A woman flew open the door to our room and stormed in. "Orion Garner." she said while looking down at her clipboard. Orion stood up proudly and followed the woman out of the room.

Ten seconds later Orion was on the television taking seat next to Caesar. "District 12, Orion Garner." Caesar greeted him with a handshake. "And you are eighteen, yes?"

"Sure am." Orion nodded with a smirk.

"Now Orion, what kinds of things can we expect from you in the Games?"

"Well," Orion began while rubbing his chin; trying to limit the list of great qualities he thinks he has. "I'm really good with a knife, if I do say so myself. They call me one of the best hunters in District 12."

Caesar Flickerman chuckled sincerely. "That is surely a great advantage in the Arena, eh?" The audience clapped in response. "Now how about your fellow tributes? You've surely been paying close attention to the interviews. How do you think they'll be in training?"

"Oh well, I don't want to mention any names, but I can ensure you they'll just be wasting their time." The audience laughed. "Especially, you know, the females."

Remember when I mentioned that you can just tell when someone's smile is fake or real? Well the same thing works with conversations. Obviously tributes want to win affection with the audience and want other tributes to fear them, so they say stuff they don't really believe in. They'll say anything to appeal to the Capitol. But how Orion said it wasn't fake. My eyebrows creased in anger as Orion continued to dis females.

"I don't understand how half the girls make it out of the Cornucopia." Orion shrugged. The spectators continued to laugh. "I can already confirm that one of District 12's girls won't make it even two minutes." Haymitch and I turned to Ezra, who sat in between us on the sofa. Her cheeks were flushed and she clenched her knees. Back on screen, Caesar cleared his throat cutting off Orion. At the same time, the woman whom earlier came for Orion opened the door of our room and called for Haymitch. Haymitch rolled his eyes and left the room after her. On screen Caesar dismissed Orion, and Haymitch took his place on the screen.

When Orion strutted back into the room, Ezra shot right up off the couch, took her high heel shoe and whipped it towards Orion. The heel caught him right in the eye. "Ow!" Orion screeched with his hand over his eye. Ezra glared a ghastly stare in his direction and sat back down, crossing her arms. Orion, to my appeal, stood there speechless with his jaw-dropped.

"You just made my day." I whispered to Ezra.

"Serves him right." she pouted.

On the television screen Caesar Flickerman was questioning Haymitch about the other tributes. "So Haymitch, what do you think about the Games having one hundred percent more competitors than usual?"

"I don't see that it'll make much difference." Haymitch replied. "They'll still be one hundred percent as stupid as usual. So I figure my odds will be roughly the same." The audience roared with applause and laughter. Ezra and I chuckled too. Man, Haymitch was good at getting the audience.

"And what are you going to do to win the Hunger Games?"

"What am I going to do? Stay alive. That's what I'm going to do." said Haymitch. Once again the Capitol thundered with ovation.

"Ezra Leordan." The woman called into our room. "And Maysilee Donner as well; you can wait behind curtain." I handed Ezra her high heels. We supported each other following the woman out of the room, giggling as we clumsily tried to walk normally in the awful shoes. Behind the curtain I saw Caesar dismiss Haymitch and Ezra was led out to take his place at the seat next to Caesar.

"Knock 'em dead." Haymitch winked as he passed me. I idiotically blushed in return. _No! Stop it stop it! He's just another tribute!_ I shook my head, but even now I couldn't deny the truth…I liked Haymitch. I liked Haymitch a lot…like a stupid little school-girl crush. I put my thoughts to the side and focused on Ezra's interview.

"Sure I have a disadvantage; a huge disadvantage." Ezra was saying. "But I've got my secret weapons."

Caesar gave her a curious look. "Yes? What is that?"

Ezra pointed two fingers at her ears. "What's better than _seeing _the tributes coming, is _hearing _them coming from a mile away. No one's sneaking up on me without me knowing." The audience clapped. "Don't count me out just yet." Ezra added as she stood up. And then it was my turn... the last interview of the night. _Leave a good impression, _I told myself. _Win their sponsoring. _The moment I stepped out from behind the curtain I was blinded by bright stage lights. The population of the spectators was enormous. My heart pounded as I approached Caesar with slight stage-fright.

"And last, but certainly not least, Maysilee Donner." Caesar greeted me with a handshake. "Maysilee, you've seen all the other tributes. Now let me ask you, how do you feel about the Games with double the amount?"

"Well like Haymitch Abernathy had said, I don't see it will make much difference." I replied sincerely. And I meant it. Meant it not in the way Haymitch implied, but in a way of disgust toward the Capitol. What difference does it make to watch double the amount of tributes die? Apparently it makes a big difference to the Capitol. It took a lot of effort to keep a warm expression while talking to Caesar.

"Now what about the Arena? What do you hope to expect?"

"As long as I can get my paws on some food, water, and a decent weapon, hey, I'm satisfied." I shrugged casually. The crowd applauded and Caesar chuckled.

"Well Maysilee, may the odds be ever in your favor." Caesar Flickerman said with a warm-hearted grin. Probably a fake warm-hearted grin. He stood up to the crowd. "This concludes the first interviews of the 50th Annual Hunger Games. We will recall with the tributes in two days after they receive their training scores. Goodnight Panem!"

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"Hey Ms. Snores-a-lot, get up!" My eyelids shot open and I elevated my head alert. Haymitch stood by my bed already dressed, hands on his hips. Sunlight poured through the room from the window beside him.

"Wha-?" I wiped drool from my chin. I noticed Ezra was absent from her bed. After the interviews last night, the tributes were escorted to some kind of Capitol Justice building for the night. Orion and Haymitch shared a room across from Ezra's and mine. I had collapsed on the bed and was out cold in a matter of seconds. "What time is it?" I asked Haymitch blearily. "Where're the others?"

"Their already down at training." he explained. "Come on, we're late."

I moaned in response and slowly pulled myself out of the cozy bed. "Why aren't you down there then?"

"Well if _somebody _didn't wake you, you'd be in a sleep coma all day now, wouldn't you?"

I snorted. "Yeah, probably; can't deny it." I dragged myself to the closet to grab the uniform for training, while Haymitch withdrew a roll of bread from his pocket and tossed it to me.

"Do you just have an entire bakery in your pockets?" I asked, recalling the other night on the train.

"That's my little secret." Haymitch winked. "Change quick. I'll be waiting for you in the hall." He closed the door behind him and I stood there in my pajamas grasping the piece of bread in my palms as a smile formed on my face.

_Way more than just a stupid little school-girl crush_.


	8. Chapter 8

**8**

"The colors suit you well." Haymitch said as I came out of the room after changing into the black and red training uniform. I stuck my tongue out jokingly in return. "Nice braid, too."

"Huh? Oh." I felt the thin weave of hair curling down by right ear. "Must've done it in my sleep." I muttered as I began to untwine.

"_Sleep braiding_?" Haymitch smiled. "Is that a special talent? But don't undo it; it's cute." I blushed, probably awfully noticeably too.

"Well why don't we head down?" I stuttered while trying to take my focus off of his dazzling eyes. _Enough, Maysilee._ As much as I tried to tell myself to get over Haymitch, it seemed the more I liked him. Everything about him. I hated it, because I knew that there was no hope for us…for us to be together. Haymitch led me down the hallway to the elevator. Right as we approached, the sliding doors opened with a ping. Coltrane, who as always looked half-drunk, nearly crashed right into us.

"Oh!" he exclaimed startled. "I was just coming to get you guys. You're wasting precious training time. Come, I'll lead you guys down." I tried my best to conceal my hatred of Coltrane and Haymitch and I piled into the fancy elevator after him. I stood uncomfortably between them as the elevator began to descend. "Training is the most important part of leading into the Games. It's the time to show the Gamemakers everything. To make sure they remember you."

"Wait. Are, are you talking to _us_?" I interrupted Coltrane with extreme sarcasm. "Whoa, whoa, Haymitch! Our mentor is actually _talking _to us!" Haymitch suppressed a snort, while Coltrane stared at me blankly with his mouth slightly dropped. Just then the elevator doors glided open to the training floor, and as Haymitch and I began out, Coltrane grabbed my arm back into the elevator. "Get your stinking hand off of me." I said. Coltrane ignored me.

"Listen Maysilee, I apologize for my lack of mentoring." he began with hardly an apologetic tone. "But I know you already understand what you are in for. Yes, you are going into an unknown Arena for a tournament to the death. So don't look at me like I don't understand either. I was there. I've witnessed things that I thought no one could ever understand. I was sixteen. We didn't have a mentor to help us through. Nobody saw I had a chance. To everyone I was just as good as dead. I got an average training score. There wasn't much special about me. Deep down I know I won the Games out of mere luck. I killed only one tribute. Just one. And you know what? I've been living with the guilt of it for thirty-five years. I was the only one that made it out alive, but I wasn't alive. I would never be alive again. I'd seen things that scarred me for life. I get drunk so I can clear my mind of those horrible images. Yes, I'm a cruddy mentor. I don't know how to mentor. I don't know what advice I can give you guys. The advice I give could go against everything you morally believe in. 'Go out and kill everybody' 'Stay hidden and don't dare kill a soul'. It's all about what you want to hear." Coltrane paused. His emotions were getting the best of him, and his eyes began to tear up. Haymitch and I stared speechless at him. My mind was racing, and I regretted everything I had assumed about Coltrane; that he was just a low-life drunken man with no consideration and no interest in helping us whatsoever. I had lacked to think about what he had experienced. "Just…just train. Impress the Gamemakers." Coltrane turned back to the elevator and the doors slid tight behind him. I turned to Haymitch.

"Come on." he said flatly. "If training well to get a good score is the only advice he can give us, then let's do just that."

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The training room was enormous, dreary, and packed with tributes all wearing the same uniforms. Stations were set up all around for teaching different skills. Archery, knife throwing, knot-tying, camouflage, fire-starting, and spearing were just a few among the many postings. While Haymitch and I stood at the doors taking it all in, I caught a glimpse of Orion limping by. I noticed his two black eyes, one almost swollen shut. Orion's facial expression read 'I-am-really-pissed-off-so-don't-you-dare-come-near-me.' I approached him anyway. "Hey Orion," he turned to me with a scowl. "I know you got the first black eye from a fourteen year old blind girl, but what about the other shiner?"

"Shut up." he sputtered, and limped away.

"He's pretty stupid, isn't he?" said a voice from behind me. I turned to face a young tribute girl with short red hair. The '4' on her uniform confirmed she was from District 4. "Girls have been beating him up all morning. I happily take credit for his swollen eye. He's awfully idiotic to go all sexist on live television."

I shrugged. "I guess he thought by dissing girls it would make us fear him." I shook my head in repulsion.

"Wow, he's dumb. He's now the number one target for every single girl in the Arena. Is it true that blind girl from your District knocked him in the face with her shoe?"

"Oh yeah." I laughed. "That was great. By the way, have you seen her?"

"Um, I think she's over at knot-tying. I myself am heading over to fighting techniques, if you want to come."

"Oh, okay. Got to start somewhere I guess." I replied. "My name's Maysilee, by the way."

"I'm Brie Odair." The girl answered. Now hearing her name, I vaguely remembered her from the interviews. She was fifteen, and both her parents were fisherman. "And don't think I'm just talking to you to get to know your weaknesses, like how all the Careers are doing." I followed Brie over to the station teaching fighting techniques, and then I noticed I had left Haymitch. Turning back, I saw him sharpening a blade at the knife throwing station and wished I had gone with him. But perhaps it was good I wasn't with Haymitch; I'd easily be distracted by him. He was just too perfect not to be distracted by him. The way he polished his blade… "Hello?" I whipped my head toward Brie and noticed she had been talking.

"Oh sorry, I got side-tracked. What was that?" I said embarrassed.

"I was just asking what you think of the Capitol…just trying to be social." Brie shrugged.

"Oh. Um…I mean, it's nothing like home, that's for sure. So…what's District 4 like?"

"District 4: I wake up every day before sunrise to get on a small, smelly fishing boat and spend the day in the hot sun reeling up trout with my four obnoxious brothers. And you know what? It's heaven compared to this." she answered. "This place is just weird beyond beliefs. Have you seen what the people_ wear _here?"

"Tell me about it." I nodded. I spent a good hour learning techniques at the station and then migrated over to a station teaching how to classify edible plants. Since mostly everyone was at the kinds of setups teaching techniques to be used in fights, (a.k.a. techniques that can be used to kill others), this station was occupied only by a few, including Ezra. Brie on the other hand decided to go try out archery. "Mind if I join in?" I asked the man coaching the station. He nodded and gestured to the seat beside the table in between Ezra and a District 8 boy.

"Hi Maysilee." Ezra greeted me, recognizing my voice. "I was wondering if you were up yet."

"Ha, yeah I've been around for a little over an hour. How about you?"

"I actually came down real early before most everyone so I could get my bearings before the place got crowded. Surprisingly I've actually learned a lot of useful stuff. And here I was thinking this would be a total waste of my time."

"Useful stuff like what?" I asked.

"I now know how to easily start a fire, classify loads of plants by their textures and smells, and how to tie all sorts of knots to make nets and things."

"Wow." I said impressed. I turned to the table in front of me. All sorts of plant samples were scattered across. I picked up a long branch with small black berries on the end. "What're these?" I asked handing over the fern to Ezra. Her sensitive fingers traced the ridges of the leaves of the branch. "Nightlock." she replied. "You do NOT want to eat these." Ezra placed the branch back on the table.

"Very impressive." said the man leading the post. "You pass with an A, Ezra. Very good job." Ezra smiled and excused herself from the station to head for another. Soon enough another hour passed, and I learned that I was terrible at classifying plants. I was the only one left at the station now. The guy who had been trying to teach me to define shrubberies sure did have a lot of patience with me. "Just…try to get a lot of meat and such and steer clear of using any plants, alright?" the man finally advised me as I got up to go to another location.

"Yeah, I'm going to be the one who's going to die because she ate poison ivy." I laughed. "Sorry for wasting your time, thanks anyway." I then noticed that over half of the training room was cleared out. "Where'd everyone go?"

"Lunch." The man replied as he packed up his plants in plastic containers. "There's a lunch buffet in the adjoining room over there. After the break the stations will re-set up."

"Oh, okay. Thank you." I followed some other tributes and wandered over to the adjacent room where lunch was being served. The place looked like a school cafeteria, except there was practically no conversation whatsoever. Well why would there be? Why socialize with people who could be the ones to kill you? Each District stayed amongst themselves; like cliques. I scanned the room for Haymitch and Ezra, and couldn't find them anywhere. I felt like that awkward kid who doesn't know where to sit at lunch. Just then, something whacked me in the back of the head. "Huh?" I turned around and bent down to pick up what had hit me.

A roll of bread...Haymitch.

I saw him in the corner of the cafe leaning against the wall with Ezra. He waved me over, and I rushed to join them.

"Seriously, what is it with you and bread for crying out loud?" I said jokingly while punching him in the shoulder. Haymitch just laughed in return and took a bite into a pear. I felt my stomach growl. "I'll be right back, I need to get some grub before my stomach turns inside out."

"Oh I'll come too; I want to grab some more fruit." Ezra said. I took a tray over at the buffet table and stacked it with a cup of steaming lamb stew and a good ladle of wild rice, as well as some fruit salad. "Curse this food for smelling so good." I moaned to Ezra who filled her tray with seconds.

"Yeah Maysilee, you're going to want to eat up." Spat a male voice from across the buffet table. I looked up and saw Orion staring ghastly at Ezra and I. He was accompanied by a couple boy Careers. _Guess you've made some new friends, huh Orion? _He was still pissed off. His fists were clenched and he looked at us as if we were to blame for him being beaten up by the girls. "So Ezra I heard you spent a good long time over at classifying plants?" Orion said obnoxiously. So tell me…can you please classify these flowers?" He picked up the vase in the center of the table so quick that I didn't have a chance to stop him. Grasping the vase, Orion whipped the contents over onto Ezra. All eyes turned, and Ezra stood jaw-dropped, soaking wet in the vase water. "Got any high-heels to throw at me now?" he laughed. The Careers laughed too.

I was on top of Orion in a split second. I had brought him to the ground and punched him continuously in the face. Yeah, I knew I was never going to hear the end of this from Giovanna, Coltrane, and the Peacekeepers, but I didn't care. Somebody needed to teach Orion a lesson. "Still think females suck?" I yelled.

"Maysilee! Stop!" Ezra cried from behind. "It's not worth it!" Before I knew it I was being pulled away from Orion by two Peacekeepers pulling me back by the arms. Orion stumbled up with his palm over the bloody nose I gave him. The adrenaline was still rushing through my veins.

"ENOUGH!" roared the Peacekeeper on my right arm. "Donner, you're training for today is over." A suspension. That was my punishment. As stupid as the punishment seemed, it was actually a huge loss. As I was being pulled out of the room I saw Haymitch staring, shocked. Everyone was staring at me with the same expression. Secretly, as I was being taken out by the Peacekeepers, a mellow smile formed across my face. _Maybe I just proved to them all that I'm not someone to mess with. _

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Banned from training for the rest of the day, I was left to utter boredom in my stupid room. With nothing to do and nothing to focus on, my mind of course was racing with anticipation. I sat stretched out across the bed while staring blankly at the ceiling. A pound on the door brought me back to reality. Haymitch walked in.

"Huh? What are you doing here? Why aren't you at training?" I asked him confused as he sat down beside me on the edge of the mattress.

"I wanted to come see you." Haymitch replied. He stared into my eyes, and of course my cheeks were turning pink.

"I know what I did down there was stupid." I muttered. "But Orion deserved it. He deserved every little bit of it. I don't even care I'm suspended from training. It felt so good to give him what he earned."

"It wasn't stupid." Haymitch said softly. He inched closer to me, and casually leaned forward to my face. _Oh my god, oh my god. _His lips were pressed to mine. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. I kissed him back. My mind was erased of every single thought and all I wanted was him. I never wanted the kiss to end. I was falling for Haymitch; I loved him….NO. I pulled away fast and the magic was gone. Haymitch and I stared at each other wide-eyed. What had just happened? "I…I'm sorry. I-" he began.

"No Haymitch. We….we can't do this." I stuttered sadly. "We can't do this." I turned away from him put my palms on my forehead. Haymitch nodded. He understood. There was no hope for us.

No matter how much I wanted Haymitch, I couldn't have him. There was no hope. For us, hope didn't exist.


	9. Chapter 9

**9**

I am corned. He slowly approaches; his long sword gleaming with fresh blood. There is no way to flee, nowhere to run. I am backed to a wall of rock, my sweaty palms grasping behind me as I face the tribute. "So," Orion grins while he runs his fingers up the blade. "I believe there are only three of us left. You, me, and your sweetheart Haymitch, yes?" I am unable to move. "I could make this easy for you. Just kill you now, and then easily take down Haymitch. I could go home as the victor. Orion Garner: the victor of the 50th Hunger Games." he says. "But I'm not going to make this easy for you. Have a swell time with your honey-bun." And then, Orion does the unthinkable. Blood instantly begins to flow from the gash in his stomach as he collapses to the ground. The sword is implanted in his center, and the bang of a cannon in the distance confirms Orion's suicide. Out of thin air, Haymitch appears. He faces me with solemn eyes. Only one can be victor. Only Haymitch and I are left.

My own scream wakes me up from my nightmare. As my eyes shoot open, I'm blinded by the bright morning light pouring in from the wide window of the suite. "Maysilee? What's going on? Are you okay?" Ezra sputtered with wide eyes in my direction. I had woken her up. I was breathing heavily and tears were streaming down my face.

"A…a nightmare." I replied trying my best to stop crying. No use. Instead I just completely broke down. I sounded like a baby, and I hated myself for it. I buried my palms into my hands. My nightmares always involved myself getting brutally murdered. This dream was on a whole new level of horrifying. Just Haymitch and I left….never in my heart could I kill him. _It was just a dream Maysilee….just a dream. _I tried to calm myself. "But it's not." I whispered aloud, still my hands in my face. "Just a few days until the nightmare becomes reality."

I felt Ezra place her arm around my shoulder as she took a seat beside me. I nestled my head on her shoulder, and took a deep breath. Ezra said nothing; not like there was much to say. Her expression was calm, and once again my admiration for her bravery rose. "Thank you." I sighed. "I'm fine now." I wiped my eyes and aroused from the mattress, giving Ezra a hand up too. I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a tight hug.

"Let's save that for later." Ezra whispered as she released me.

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"Morning ladies!" Giovanna chirped. Entering the lounge of our penthouse, I quickly scanned the open room for Orion and was relieved to find him nowhere around. Haymitch and Coltrane sat across from each other at the dining table, while Giovanna sat legs crisscrossed on the couch while she watched whatever program the Capitol was airing on the wide-screen television.

"Where's Orion?" I instantly asked suspiciously.

"Your little friend is still sleeping." Coltrane answered sarcastically as he took a sip of coffee. "You want some advice? Here's a recommendation: don't be wasting your training time, you idiot."

"Language!" Giovanna yelled at Coltrane. Coltrane rolled his eyes and took a bite of a breakfast pastry while Haymitch snorted. "But he's right," Giovanna added as she turned to me. "I'm no mentor; I'm just your escort. But you don't want to be getting in fights in training. The Gamemakers are watching everything. They are the ones who are going to evaluate you and give you your training score. You want sponsors? Then you get a high score. You want a high score? Then you use your time wisely so you can show them everything you got."

"Like it really matters for me." Ezra murmured annoyed. "Haymitch, can you toss me a pastry?"

"Heads up," Haymitch called, and then he threw a muffin from across the room towards her. Ezra caught it perfectly in the air, and all jaws dropped.

"What was that?" Giovanna exclaimed.

"What?" Ezra asked casually as she took a bite of the muffin. "I have _ears _you know. If I ask Haymitch to throw me a pastry and he's approximately 9 meters at 11 o'clock from me, I'm just guessing here, he's going to throw the pastry _towards _me." she said sarcastically. All jaws just dropped lower.

"Well!" Giovanna finally replied. "That's certainly a skill you can show off during your evaluation!"

Ezra's eyebrows creased. "Yeah, like they're gonna care. They're not gonna pay any attention to me during my evaluation. In fact, I'm sure they've already determined my score: a big fat zero. Oh well." she shrugged.

"Ezra, I want you to work on knife throwing at training today." Coltrane said. "I'll have them attach beepers on the mannequins so you can aim. And Maysilee," I glared wide-eyed at Coltrane. I decided to take more consideration of him. At least he now was finally giving us advice. "No brawls today, you hear? I want you to work on climbing."

"Climbing?" I repeated. "Like trees and stuff? Why?"

"Because that's something everyone always underestimates. If you're running from a tribute and you're weaponless, sometimes there's no place ground level to hide. Having good upper arm-strength to escape up a tree can save your life." Coltrane explained. I nodded gratefully in return. "Haymitch, you're arm-strength is already very strong. You spent a lot at weaponry yesterday. Today you should probably practice simple survival skills. Now, how about you girls join us over here and eat something? You two could use a few pounds."

It was nice to see Coltrane this way; as in not drunk and inconsiderate. I guess our conversation in the elevator yesterday must have had an impact on him. Breakfast was actually pretty pleasant having him this way, and not having Orion at the table either. But one thing was making me uncomfortable….Haymitch was refusing to make eye contact with me. We had kissed. We had wanted to, too. The realization that there was no hope for us completely changed Haymitch. No longer was he joking around and passing me his grins. He hardly spoke all morning, and when he did his tone was serious and expressionless. I missed him. He had had a way of comforting me… he had had a way of clearing my mind of all terrible thoughts. But part of me was happy about his ignoring me, because I knew I couldn't keep thinking of him the way I wanted to. My mind was a complete jumbled mess. As soon as I was excusing myself from breakfast, Orion sauntered into the room. My eyes narrowed on him as he glared with pure hatred. "Come on," I muttered to Ezra. "Let's go get ready." I knew I couldn't be in the same room as Orion with just the few of us there. One remark from him and I no doubt would probably beat the crap out of him again.

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Just as it was yesterday, the dreary training area was packed by the time I got down. Just by skimming the room, I could already tell everybody was much more involved than they were yesterday. Knifes were being thrown with more force, expressions were ten times more serious, and conversations were slim. I looked up and saw Gamemakers were watching intensely from a balcony above. The Games were drawing near. As Coltrane advised, I made my way over to the climbing area, and began rope climbing. Shockingly, I discovered I had a knack for it. I swiftly conquered the rope and made my way to the high ceiling. _Now to get down. _I progressively released my grip on the rope as I descended. Trying to ignore the burning rope scald I felt on my hands, I finally made it to the floor. "Wow." said a voice from my rear. A Career tribute. The \ girl had short dark hair and looked about my age. I recognized her from her interview: Titania from District 1. She gave me a mordant smirk and clapped her hands. "Maybe you can climb someone to death." Titania laughed at her own lame jest.

"Yes, thank you so much for the good advice. Maybe I'll test that out." I mockingly replied with a false smile. I could've insulted the hell out of her, but I figured I've already made an enemy out of Orion. No need to piss off a strong Career as well. Titania crossed her arms and rolled her eyes before turning her back to join her fellow Careers. I continued to work my arms and climbed up the rope two more times, then moved on to a strange looking rock wall. This required more strategy and careful foot placing to make it up the gravel. After a few failed attempts of falling, I finally managed to make it to the top of the boulder wall. I took the leap of faith and jumped the twenty feet down to the ground, landing on all fours as a cat. "Okay Coltrane." I muttered to myself while squeezing my sore arms. "I'd say that's enough arm work for now." I spent the rest of the day practicing on weaponry techniques and skills like lighting fires and spearing fish. I was the last one to leave the training room that afternoon, and I would have stayed longer if it wasn't for the damn Peacekeepers kicking me out. As the elevator dinged to District 12's floor I was greeted by Giovanna. "There you are! Dinner awaits! Glad to see you didn't get in any fights, yes? You need to eat up! The evaluations are tonight!" she smiled. The District 12 crew was already feasting at the dining table, and I was surprised to see Pindarus, Labelle, and one other stylist guy sitting at the table as well.

"Hello Maysilee." Pindarus smiled at me while extending me a hand across the table as I took a seat. "How has training been going?"

"Uh, good. I think." I replied. "I definitely learned a lot. Hopefully I can get a decent training score."

"That's good." he nodded. "Tomorrow morning after the scores are announced, there will be one more interview. This interview will be your last chance to impress the audience out front. Labelle, Marcellus and I will make sure your outfits will 'wow' the audience." I shook my head as to agree.

"I'm nervous." I admitted to the table." I noticed Orion give me a loathing glare and then look away.

"Don't be." Coltrane said. "Just show them all you got. I heard you're pretty speedy up a rope? Show them that. Throw a few blades; whatever you can do to astound them."

"Okay."

"Now!" Giovanna said interrupting. "Eat! You're going to need the energy."

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The next morning, we were crowded around the lounge of the penthouse watching the wide-screen television. I sat crisscrossed on the floor next to Ezra, while Haymitch, Coltrane, Orion, and Giovanna occupied the couch. Behind them stood Pindarus, Labelle and Marcellus. I thought my evaluation had gone okay. I did as Coltrane suggested and showed the Gamemakers my climbing skills. They seemed impressed, and I even threw a couple knifes. With much anticipation, the screen came to life with the young Caesar Flickerman and the head Gamemaker Lucentio Char. My heart pounded as they began to announce the training scores.

"District 1's Titania: score of10." announced Lucentio. Following her, each Career received scores of either 9 or 10. I noted some other familiar faces. "District 4's Brie: score of 6." Later the end of the announcement was drawing near. My heart was racing. "District 12's Ezra: score of 4." they proclaimed.

"Meh, better than 0." Ezra sighed.

"District 12's Maysilee: score of 7."said Lucentio on the screen. I finally exhaled.

"Way to go, kiddo." Coltrane congratulated patting me on the shoulder.

"District 12's Orion: score of 8. And finally District 12's Haymitch: score of 10." We all clapped for the guys, but Orion turned to Haymitch in disbelief.

"How the hell did you get a _10?_" Orion demanded of Haymitch.

"That's classified." Haymitch nonchalantly responded while Orion grunted.

"Well this is just fantastic!" Giovanna exclaimed excitedly while clasping her hands together. "Very good job boys! You too, ladies!"

"Whatever." Orion muttered as he stormed off. His sense of jealousy and self-arrogance was overbearing; a weakness that could easily get him in deep trouble in the Arena with the Careers. After a quick breakfast, Pindarus and his stylists got right to work with preparing us for our last interviews. Pindarus led me to a dressing room.

"What's this?" he asked pulling aside the braid by my ear.

"Oh. I uh…just a braid. I do that often. Just a weird habit." I answered.

"I'm liking it." Pindarus replied. "I think I'll keep your hair down; put in a few of these thin braids. It's definitely your look."

"Alright." I smiled. "I'm trusting you." Two hours later I'm sitting in the lounge in a short ruffled orange dress. My long blond hair is straightened with about a half dozen skinny braids. Once again I'm in high heels, but I at least mastered walking in them. Haymitch is wearing a black suit with silver seams and gold buttons and Orion wears a dark brown ensemble with a silver tie. Ezra has on a light blue dress and simple white flats. Her black hair is tied up in a bun. All in all, we looked nice; not crazy insane. I decided I really liked Pindarus' style. It was quite different from the majority of the Capitol citizens. It was the closest thing to normal, yet styling. Our final interviews that night went by quickly. Much too quickly. Nothing much exciting happened, just more talk with the tributes and their training scores. Before I knew it, the interviews were over.

Tomorrow was the day….

Tomorrow the nightmare was coming true…

I lay in bed that night wide awake. I knew Ezra was awake too of course, but we didn't talk. We could both be dead tomorrow. I tossed and turned, wanting so bad to fall asleep. I wanted to fall asleep and never have to wake up…just drift off into a distant meadow. I got up and left the room. Outside in the dim lounge was Haymitch, standing by the window gazing out at the lit Capitol city. My mind instantly went to the night on the train. Not saying a word, I walked over and joined him. We stood there silently for minutes, just staring out the window.

We turned to each other at the same time, and I looked up into his sparkling eyes. He gently took my hands, and leaned in. My body instantly felt warm as his lips pressed against mine. And this time I refused to pull away. If this was going to be the last time I ever got to kiss Haymitch, then I wanted to enjoy every bit of it. I pulled him closer. He released my palms and moved his hands to my temples. The scared feeling I had was masked by comfort…. by love. "God Maysilee…" Haymitch whispered as he stroked my hair. He lowered me down to the couch. I snuggled into his chest as we lay together. His arms were wrapped around my shoulders. The streams of light from the window mixed in with the dimness of the room were all of a sudden relaxing. My eyes drooped shut and I fell asleep listening to his soft heartbeat. I prayed the beat would never ever stop.

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The worst thing about sleeping is that you don't know you are. Thus you close your eyes and open your eyes what seems like a minute later, even though it has been hours. Time passes too fast. Morning had come, and no longer was I in Haymitchs' arms. I'm lying on a counter in a small white room. Three Peacekeepers surround me. I'm fully dressed: a black tank top, black cargo pants and boots. My hair is still down with the braids from yesterday. "Where am I?" I demand of the Peacekeepers."

"Do not talk." one of them sternly says. A door slides open and the Peacekeepers lead me out of the room. I don't know how I got there. One moment I was sleeping against Haymitch. The next morning I wake up in completely different clothes and in a completely different place. _Oh God…no…not now. _I was being led into the Games. Down the hall, the Peacekeepers slide open another door, and I see Coltrane waiting inside. Without caring, I ran in a wrapped my arms around him. "I'm not ready." I stuttered as my whole body shook. "Where's Haymitch…and Ezra?" _I never got to say goodbye to them._ I took my arms off of him and wiped away the tears from my face. "Oh god, I'm not ready."

"You are ready." Coltrane replied. "You're as ready as you're ever going to get. Maysilee- I know just as much about the Arena as you do right now. You're going to get out of the Cornucopia alive, okay? I know you are. You can run- run and grab the first thing you can and then get the hell out of there, you hear me? It's going to a bloodbath, especially with twice the amount of tributes." I took a deep breath and shook my head, trying to be brave. "Here," he said handing me a jacket. "You have to put this on." I slipped it on.

An intercom buzzed on. "**1 minute**."

I turned to face Coltrane and gave him another hug; I needed to the final comfort of human touch.

"**30 seconds**."

My legs were wobbling. I let go of him and began to walk to the glass tube that would rise and put me in the unknown Arena.

"**20 seconds."**

I stood in the tube and it closed around me. Another deep breath. The tube began to rise.

"**10 seconds.**" _Here we go._


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey, I just wanted to say thanks for all the reviews! I love reading them 3 I'm glad the story's going well and I hope to get some more feedback! Thanks so much! :)**

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><p><strong>10<strong>

As the platform continues to rise, the soft chirping of morning birds becomes clearer and clearer. _Where there are birds there are usually woods._ Light- the platform comes to a stop and suddenly I see the Arena: the most breathtaking place imaginable. The Cornucopia gleamed golden in the middle of a sweet-smelling green meadow. The meadow appeared to stretch for miles, but far in the distance I saw the woods. Rotating my upper body, I saw the dense woods surrounded the entire field, and on one side beyond was a snowcapped mountain. The bright sky was azure blue, with fluffy billowing white clouds. I refocused my eyes on the Cornucopia. Riches of all kinds were scattered as if pouring from the mouth. Backpacks full of supplies, survival materials, and assortments of weapons. 48 tributes surrounded it all, standing equally apart on our platforms. I thought to try to search out Haymitch and Ezra, but there was no time. I had to focus.

Lucentio Char continued the countdown.

"**5**" I took a racing position on the stand…

"**4**" … a race for my life.

"**3**" _God let me get out of this battle alive, oh please._

"**2**" _…and Ezra and Haymitch. Just please._

"**1**" The cannon fired. No time to think anymore. Sprinting off the platform, I fixated on the closest thing I could see. Never before had I run like this; my legs moved instinctively. The second the Careers made it to the Cornucopia, slaughter and massacre would take place. _Faster Maysilee, faster! _Too fast- quickly I found myself flat on my face. Turning around to see what I tripped over, my eyes widened. Diving back, I picked up the dart blowgun, and threw the strap around my shoulder. Hoping to grab a backpack too, I soared upward and continued to race deeper into the depths of the Cornucopia area. My eyes took in all the blood that was already being shed. So many tributes were falling dead…I dared not look at their faces. I don't know what I would do if I saw Haymitch or Ezra lying in a pool of their own blood as they suffered to death.

Suddenly I felt a blow to my stomach. I collapsed. My attacker had engaged from the side and had brought his boot right into my stomach. "Well look who it is." _Oh no. Not Orion, no. _He pinned me to the ground. "I got a present for you." Orion showed me his new silver blade claimed from the Cornucopia. I kicked and squirmed but failed to get Orion off of me. "I'm gonna enjoy this." he whispered. _This is it. This is it. Oh god I didn't want to die this way. _I didn't stop kicking and wriggling, but I closed my tearing eyes tight. Then all of a sudden, Orion's weight was pushed off my body. Stumbling back up, I saw Orion had been tackled by Brie and another young tribute girl. By the way the two girls fought with Orion, I could tell Brie hadn't done it to save me; just as she had said at training, Orion had easily made a target of himself by dissing all females. There was no way I was going to journey any farther to the Cornucopia. The risk of getting killed was way too high and a knapsack just wasn't worth it. Heart throbbing, I sprinted away and kept my gaze on the distant woods. _Please Brie. Please be okay. Please kill Orion. _Although she probably didn't know it, Brie had saved my life.

Finally I reached the woods, but I didn't dare stop yet. I continued to run as I trekked. The woods were lush and a deep shade of green. As I got farther and farther, the sounds of the cannon firing marking a tribute's death boomed. I just kept running. I ran and ran, until I couldn't run anymore. I imagined I was probably a little over a mile deep into the woods. I came to a halt and listened. Quiet. Birds chirped happily in the trees above. Bright flowers bloomed from the earth, and even an oddly colorful butterfly fluttered by. The scenery jumbled my already screwed up mind. It was hard to believe what had just happened; what had just begun. I wiped the sweat from my forehead, and slouched against a tree. Feeling sick, I bent over and threw up.

"Damn it." I muttered while wiping vomit from my chin. Now that I had completely disgorged my dinner, I knew it wasn't going to be long until I'd be going hungry and thirsty. I lowered myself to the ground and pressured my back to the tree. As I examined my blowgun, I cursed more to myself. Out of all the possible weapons- knives, bows, axes, swords- I just had to get something as useless as a blowgun. It was loaded with ten darts. I decided to practice aiming and shooting. Luckily, the darts shot fast with each blow and I quickly mastered aiming by targeting specific points on trees from different distances. The dart shooter was no killing weapon; I wouldn't even be able to injure anyone with it. I figured the only good use for keeping it was to shoot down some birds or squirrels to fuel my hunger. But hunger wasn't of the essence at the moment. My throat was becoming dry and the sun was going to set fast. I needed to find a source of water. Gathering my darts, I reloaded them in the blowgun and strapped it around my back. Now how was I supposed to find water? Just trek the woods until I stumble across a stream? Who knows how long these woods could go on for? Suddenly I remembered something Ezra had said from her interview: The greatest survival skill of all is your senses.

Ezra. My heart ached just thinking about her. As much as I didn't want to believe it, I knew there was no way Ezra had got out of the Cornucopia battle alive. Before the reaping I had hardly known her, but within the few days we had she became one of my closest friends. I felt warm tears streaming down my face. Kneeling down, I clasped my hands together and prayed for her. I prayed her death had been quick and easy. I prayed Brie and that other tribute girl had killed Orion and were okay. I pulled myself back up, and suddenly reminded myself that everything was being filmed right now. I pictured my parents, Yule, Noraleen and Pazima watching; watching all the murder, all the blood being shed. I pictured every District being forced to watch their loved ones battling for their lives on live television. I had watched it every year- but never had it affected me so. Of course I had always felt sympathy, but I had never known anyone personally who had been reaped. Finally it had been my turn. I remembered Ezra's brother at the reaping being pulled away for standing up against the Capitol. Had they really killed her brother? Part of me felt like they hadn't right away; part of me felt the Peacekeepers had forced him to watch so he could see his sister die, just as payback. My mind was wandering into deep depression again. I had to focus. _Come on Maysilee. Stay brave and fight till the end. Just like you promised Paz, _I told myself.

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The day was setting hastily, and my quench for water wasn't getting any better. My mission for streams had been a complete failure. I started to wonder if there even was any source of water in the whole Arena. Despite my disappointment to not come across any water or edible plants, I was lucky enough to stay clear of any other tributes out on the prowl. Finally I came across a bush flourishing with juicy looking berries. _Of course I just had to suck at classifying edible plants. _The berries didn't _look _poisoned. I pulled off a branch and examined it. Suddenly I recognized them from the leaves. The same branch Ezra told me to steer clear of: Nightlock. I threw the branch and brushed my hands on my pants. I decided to continue on. If I couldn't find any edible plants, maybe if I could find a stream I could catch a fish with a dart. As the sun set beyond the trees, I felt the temperature quickly dropping. Would it be safe to make a fire for the night? No way. All of a sudden I heard it. Well, I heard two things: the distant sounds of voices and running water. Following my ears, I came across a gentle flowing river. By now the sun had completely set and the moon illuminated the wide river with a glossy glow of silver. I was so close to jumping right in, when I heard the voices very close. Across the river an alliance of five tributes were approaching the edge of the water. I ducked down behind a large boulder to avoid being spotted.

"Water!" yelled one of the tributes. I knew they weren't Careers, so I felt a little more relieved. Still, a tribute is a tribute and I didn't want to take my chances by letting them see me.

"Shhhhh! Shut up Lon!" hissed a female voice. With 48 tributes in the Game, I of course couldn't recognize who they were. With only a few days for training, there had been no time to memorize the faces or voices of all the tributes.

"Come to mama." groaned a third voice. Leaning over, the tribute knelt down and cupped her hands together to take a huge gulp.

"Guys…Just be quiet. I have a strange feeling we're being watched." whispered the first female voice.

"Liekin's right." added Lon. Liekin and Lon…now I remembered them from their interviews. They were brother and sister, from District 8.

"Uh…uh," sounding feeble, the girl who had been drinking from the stream began to choke. "Don't… drink the water…" she continued to hack pathetically. "P…p…poisoned."

"SURI!" Liekin, Lon, and the other two tributes part of their alliance dove down next to her. Seven seconds later the cannon fired. "Suri…"

"Damn the water is poisoned…" murmured Liekin angrily. "Just like the last river. This isn't good."

A rustle of leaves sounded close. "Did you guys here that?" whispered Lon. "Let's get out of here." Then the four withdrew a knife from Suri's pocket and left her behind while rushing into the woods. I raised myself from behind the rock and released a huge sigh. I had been so close to splashing right in the poisoned water. I looked across the river at Suri's lifeless body collapsed over the edge. _That could have been me…_

Even worse, now I was doomed for water. Liekin had said that it was the second poisoned river they had found. Did the Gamemakers really poison all water sources? Why would they want to kill us all off _that _way? Feeling a chill crawl up my spine, I decided I needed to find someplace to rest for the night. Little ways from the river, I found the most perfect tree imaginable, as if it was designed for me to sleep in. Climbing up the wide trunk was a breeze, and there was an inclusive knot for me to lean into while my legs stretch across a long branch. Because of the knot hole, chances of falling out of the tree were slim. Part of me knew I wasn't going to be able to sleep anyway. I could hardly sleep the nights leading up to the Games, so how on earth was I ever going to get some shut-eye actually_ in_ the Arena?

All of a sudden, the national anthem of the Capitol began to thunder. I had forgotten- every night of the Games the faces of the tributes that had died illuminated the sky. The sky had become a huge projector screen. I had to move my head to see through the higher branches of the treetop, but I had a good view. Suddenly the death order began to show. My heart was racing a mile a minute in anticipation. _Please be dead Orion…Please be alive Haymitch. Brie…Ezra. _The deaths just kept going and going. With each face appearing, I held my breath. Suddenly I saw Brie's face, following the other girl who had saved me from being killed by Orion.

19 tributes in total dead. 29 left. Orion's face never showed. Haymitch's face never showed... and Ezra's face never showed. I hadn't really been worried too much about Haymitch- his hand to hand combat skills were too impressive; I knew for a fact he was going to get out of the Cornucopia. But Ezra….she was still alive? I couldn't imagine how scared she is. I wanted so bad to find her. The sky had returned to its starry self. I shut my eyes and simply listened. I heard the quiet flow of the poisoned river nearby, the soft rustle of a small animal trekking through fallen leaves, the silent whisper of the cool breeze. I thought about all the nightmares I had had about being here…about being in this tournament to the death. I wished I could just fall asleep right now, and never have to wake up. Or fall asleep, and when I open my eyes I'll be in that distant land I always fantasize about. A beautiful place where my mind can live at peace; a place where everything is safe. A place where I can have Haymitch all for myself and never have to worry about losing him.

My eye lids drooped shut, and I fell asleep.


	11. Chapter 11

**Things are heating up in the Arena :) Please review to let me know what you think/ what you like! :) Thanks! **

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><p><strong>11<strong>

**BOOM**. The bang of the cannon brought me back to reality. My eyes darted open from shock, and for a second I forgot where I was. _Right. I'm in a tree in the Hunger Games. _It was before sunrise, but it wasn't too cold. I had slept through the whole night, which was good. What wasn't good was my throat was as dry as a desert, and my back was extremely stiff from my sleeping position. While carefully climbing down the tree, another cannon bang sounded. The impact from the sound made me lose my grip on the branch and I fell to the ground. Two more tributes dead? And then it came again: an even louder and longer bang. Wait, that wasn't a cannon. Thunder? Rubbing my drowsy eyes, I gawked upward and saw the sky had turned a dark shade of grey. Rain! A single drop fell down on my nose: a drop of heaven. Finally the clouds surged open and the drizzling rain soon was pouring down in buckets. It felt simply amazing_. _"So _this_ is how we get water." I muttered to myself. If only I had something to store some in. From a large fern bush, I transformed a massive leaf into a cup and held it up high. Soon enough it was overflowing and I gulped the entire thing in one sip. I filled the leaf several more times until my stomach was feeling bloated. The rain didn't last too long. Before long the storm clouds had passed, and dawn was peeking through the horizon. My quench was satisfied, but my stomach was turning inside out. I had gone almost a whole day with nothing to eat…I had to get some food and I had to get some soon. But how…

Grasping my dartgun, I continued to wander the woods aimlessly keeping my eyes peeled for an unwary squirrel or bird. I figured since my plant classifying skills would probably kill me, my best chance was to stay clear of vegetation and try to get some meat. The tweeting of birds filled my ears and I locked my eyes on a flock of birds clustered up high on a tree branch. I knew I would easily be able to aim at one, but would my dart shoot high enough? Only one way to find out. I inhaled a deep breath and focused on a plump one. With a heavy blow, my dart shot like a pistol and got the bird straight through the chest. The rest of the flock flew away in panic, but my bird fell to the ground. I rushed over to where it had crashed, prepared to put it out of suffering. To my relief it had already died. Strangely, the thought of having to snap the innocent creature's neck made me a little queasy. _How the hell am I going to be able to kill a human being?_ I spent the rest of the morning slicing my hands while trying to start a fire. By the time I actually created flames, my bloody hands felt as if they were about to fall off. By the poisoned river, I had claimed a sharp rock that made a great knife-substitute for preparing my birdy for roasting.

The skewered meat smelled delicious as I turned it over above my small fire pit. It could have been a roasting shoe and I still think I'd find the smell delicious- Yup, I was that hungry. I quickly devoured every last bite of my meat. While I was putting out the flames, I heard a cannon shot. And this time I was positive it was a cannon fire, and not thunder. "About time." I murmured sarcastically. That made 20 tributes in total dead. 28 left. I couldn't stop myself from wondering about Haymitch and Ezra. Where were they? Also, who was the tribute who had just fallen and how did they die?

All of a sudden, my heart froze as I heard the scream of a female. Right after came the scream of a young male. They were nearby. "STOP!" bawled a third voice of a girl. I recognized the voice: Liekin from District 8. It was the same alliance I had watched from the side of the river the night before. "NO!" she screamed again. Curiosity got the best of me and before I knew it I was racing to the sound of the screams. _Are you stupid Maysilee? Yeah, let's just head right into the source of the screaming. No big deal. _Despite my opposing conscience, I couldn't help myself. As I drew closer to the alliance, I silently climbed up a thin tree to spy from above. I saw the four of them: Liekin and the other male from her alliance were dueling it out in a knife combat. Both of their expressions read the same thing: Kill. On the ground oozing in their own blood, Liekin's younger brother Lon lay gasping for air. The other female girl was in the same position, except she appeared already dead. At that same time, a cannon shot resounded confirming her gory death. Lon's panting soon also came to a halt and a second cannon fired. My eyes watched in horror. Liekin and the boy were still in brutal conflict. A part of me wanted to climb down and help Liekin take him down. Liekin seemed like a very strong girl, and creating an alliance with her wouldn't be such a bad idea. But on the same note, the male in battle with her seemed to have completely lost his mind. And my weapon probably wouldn't do much help. Instead I just watched, praying on Liekin's side. Liekin finally kicked the guy in the groin and he collapsed. Quickly, she stabbed her knife into the back of his neck. "That's what you get for betraying your alliance." she spat. "And for killing my brother like that." A third cannon boomed. Liekin stood there panting in the middle of the three bodies. Bending down, she kissed her younger brother on the cheek. "I love you, Lon." I heard her whisper. Seizing the backpacks off of Lon and the female tribute, Liekin quickly emptied the contents of one and threw them into the other. Then she stood up and dashed off deeper into the woods.

Thinking the screams probably had attracted some Careers hungry for fresh kill, I decided not to stick around in the area. However, I could see Liekin had missed to check on the backpack of the boy she had just killed. Scurrying down the tree, I rushed over to where the battle had just taken place and pulled the small sack off of the dead tributes' shoulder. The knapsack was really small, so I wasn't expecting to find much. There were only two miniscule apples inside. I pulled out the apples and stuffed them into the pockets of my jacket. Fearing Careers were probably on their way, I rushed off into the woods; the opposite way Liekin had gone.

Within the next two hours, I had completely devoured every edible bit of the small apples. Though I didn't think it would be much use, I scavenged the forest for berries. Everything I came upon was poisonous, just like how I theorized. I tested my theories on insects. Flowers, berries, and the water from another spring all killed the bugs within a minute. Cursing aloud, I grasped my head in frustration. If everything in the Arena was poisonous…that means the only way of food had to come from the Cornucopia. Thinking back now, I recalled seeing an abundant number of backpacks scattered around. There was sure to be plenty of sacks still left; maybe some other useful goods as well. I had to get back to the Cornucopia if I wanted to save myself from starvation. Sure I had managed to shoot down a bird, but my hunting skills overall weren't too grand, my weapon was pretty useless, and I had a feeling that the creatures lurking in the Arena were probably infused with poison as well. I most likely just got lucky with having a poison-free bird this morning. The Cornucopia: that's where I needed to go.

But- I'm sure I'm not the only one who figured this much out. If I was heading to the Cornucopia, I needed to be prepared for a fight. Other tributes would be sneaking around there too, and worse: Careers would be guarding it as their own property. Sitting on a rock, I glared with hate at my stupid blowdart gun. _Why couldn't you be a bow? Why not a sword? Nope, I'm just a stupid dartgun with stupid pointless darts. _Suddenly a light bulb struck in my mind. Eagerly I unloaded all the ten darts and laid them down on the rock beside me. I picked a bright yellow flower that I had tested on with the bugs. Its' poison had been able to kill the insects almost instantly. I wonder how fast it would kill a human? I picked up one of my darts and stuck it right into the center of the flower. _Poison Darts. _I did so with the other nine, and as I did a wide smile grew across my face. Carefully not touching the poisoned tips, I loaded the darts back into the blowgun. Just like that, I had turned my stupid tool into a deadly weapon.

Now, I had to start my way to the Cornucopia. I was miles out far from the field where we started, and the sun was yet again setting fast. I'd get a start on walking there, and then take a rest for the night.

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Not wanting to endure the pain on my back again, I decided to skip sleeping up in a tree and instead found a thick shrubbery deep in the forest that kept me completely hidden. As I lay on my back on the chilly earth in the dark, the national anthem began to play. I recalled hearing five cannons through the whole day. Three of those deaths I had witnessed. The projector screen lit up the sky. The first face was a young boy from District 7. Then came Lon. Then the other young female who had died beside him. Then the male who Liekin had killed. And then….

Orion.

Orion was dead? I noticed I had been holding my breath and I let out a long exhale of relief. _He was gone_. And Haymitch and Ezra were still out there. Part of me had a feeling that Ezra and Haymitch were together as an alliance. I hoped I could find them soon. 24 tributes were dead. 24 were left. And yet the Games were far from being over. I tried to get just a little shut eye, but soon I heard the soft rustling of people trekking through the woods: and there was more than just one. "Ha man, that was just great." laughed a deep male voice. "The face on that lame District 7 kid. We got him good." I froze in place. The voices of the boys were approaching closer to my hiding spot. They were Careers. "I'm a Career, you live in fear!" sang one of the other boys. I guessed there were four of them: four predators enthusiastically romping the forest searching for their next prey. The laughs were getting closer to me…and closer. I was frozen in place. What would I do if they found me? Should I get up and run? Could I out run them?

"Guys." One of them hushed the other three laughing goons. "Shhh." They all became dead silent. I held my breath and didn't dare move a muscle. "I think someone's here." he snickered. "Come out, come out, where ever you are." the boy chanted in a creepy psychopath way. I began to shake. They were right next to me. _On three Maysilee…run. _

_One,_

_Two,_

_Three! _

Jumping up from my shrubbery, I dashed away. "Get her!" I heard one of them screaming from behind me. They were chasing me, but they weren't right on my tail. I realized I was faster than the four of them. I thought back to the dream I had the night before the Reaping. The one where I was all alone in the woods just running, and my brother Yule was chasing to kill me._ Running. Running._ _Just keep running._ It's all I could do. But now I wasn't the helpless girl I was in that dream. Tears didn't cloud my eyes. Sure my heart was racing, but my mind wasn't impounded with pure terror. I wasn't going to be dead meat. Not just quite yet. The goons were slowing down: I was losing them, but I didn't stop yet. I continued to dash. Even when I knew I had completely lost the Careers, I didn't rest. I continued to walk, even though I was certain I was utterly lost. Which way was the Cornucopia? It didn't matter now. I'd get to it eventually. I just continued to hike through the dark woods.

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In the depths of the dense forest, there was hardly any moonlight seeping through the treetops to illuminate my path. Nothing but dead silence surrounded me: my own light breathing sounded like a booming drum. Although I tried to make my steps as mute as possible, there was no way to avoid the crunching of dead leaves and the snapping of twigs. Worse, I had a terrible feeling I was being watched. Actually, I _knew _I was being watched; I just knew. I felt like nothing more than a naive little rodent advancing right into the trap of the predator. My teeth clattered as shivers took over my entire body.

I stopped moving.

I held my breath.

I wondered if my assassin could smell the fear reeking through my pours. I felt paralyzed, not knowing what to do. Should I run, or just stay completely still? I was too terrified to make the decision. Either way, I was doomed. I was victim…and I was right where my hunter wanted me. There was a small possibility I was being paranoid, but I felt the presence of the tribute as if they were right on my shoulder. Slowly, I reached for my dartgun strapped to my back.

Suddenly there was a quick swoosh of a blade. My eyes widened at the knife implanted in the oak trunk eight feet from me. If it was meant to sever me, it had been a poor aim. Regardless, I turned my alarmed gaze to the direction the knife was cast from. I saw the quick flash of short dark hair vanish behind a shrub. Short black hair: My initial thought was Titania; the only tribute I recall having that short scruff haircut. Titania was a Career: she could probably rip me to pieces. So why was she hiding? Why didn't she just straight on attack me? Something was up. Perhaps she was injured? Perhaps the rest of her Career pack had a master plan laid out and she was just part of a bigger picture? No matter: I couldn't run now. Not with the fear that there were other Careers spying on me. If I was going down, I would go down fighting, and I would take one of them down with me. I locked my eyes on the bushes where Titania was concealed. My dartgun was loaded with the poisoned darts. One good shot and she'd be dead in less than a minute. I gradually began to approach the shrub. Sweat trickled down my forehead. _Ready or not, here I come... _a game of hide-and-seek.

Unexpectedly, she stumbled up from her hiding place and attempted to make a run for it. I noticed she was grasping a long spear. I lowered my dartgun as the young tribute tripped over a rock and face planted to the ground. I lowered the blowgun. Gawking at the tribute, my eyes opened wider in disbelief. "Ezra?" I stammered. Ezra's bruised face turned to my direction. I could see the petrified fear hidden in her sightless eyes.

"May-…Maysilee?" she stuttered, tears streaming down her face. Ezra tried to stumble up at the say time I dove down to her. We squeezed each other in a tight hug. I felt tears running down my cheek. "Maysilee," Ezra cried silently as I locked her in my arms. "Oh god I… I was s-so scared. I, I thought you were Careers."

"It's okay." I whispered. "I thought _you _were a Career." I admitted to my friend. "I thought you were Titania."

Ezra lightly chortled beneath her crying. "Well I guess my disguise works, then."

"Ezra. How- how did you…how did you get out of the Cornucopia? Where did you get the knife? And the spear?" I asked bewildered. Suddenly I detected the rucksack strapped to her back. "And the backpack?" What I was seeing was completely unbelievable.

"It's a long story." Ezra sighed tiredly while wiping the tears from her face. "Let's find someplace safe for the night. I'll tell you everything."

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The secluded cave by the poisoned river made the perfect hideout for the night. We burned our small fire in peace without the fear of attracting any tributes by the light. The sound of the flow of the stream would also conceal our low voices. Ezra's sack contained a water canteen with just a few sips of rainwater left, a container of dried pears, one apple, two flint rocks, and a thin blanket. She had still yet to tell me how she got her hands on such valuable things. Using the rocks, we had been able to quickly start a fire, and we both treated our grumbling stomachs to the remainders of the dehydrated pears. Wrapped in the blanket, Ezra began to tell me of how she's been able to stay alive.

"The moment the platform began to rise leading into the Games, I knew there was woods: I could hear the distant calls of forest birds." she began. "I also knew that the calls were coming from directly behind me. In front I knew there was the Cornucopia. I of course wasn't going to go anywhere near there. I thought I would have a chance of getting out of that field if I just turned around and ran. I guessed everyone else would be so focused on claiming equipment from the Cornucopia that no one would even notice me running directly away from it all. I ran as fast as I could. I fell like, a million times, which explains the scrapes and bruises all over me, but I kept getting right back up and running. Soon I reached the woods, which slowed me down quite a bit. I just trekked…I used my hands and feet and just…felt my way around. I heard no voices nearby, which really helped to calm me down. Regardless, I was…scared; there's no other way to explain it."

"But…then how did you get all that stuff?" I asked again.

"I'm getting there." Ezra faintly grinned. "So…I was just trekking. Hiding. Staying low. Fortunately I was lucky enough to stay clear of tributes. I hadn't ever heard them coming in my direction. I had nothing…no water, no food, no weapon…no sight. Just a blind fourteen-year-old girl with not a vast clue about my surroundings. I discovered pretty quickly that all food in the Arena was poisonous: I could smell it all around. That rain sure was lucky though." Ezra paused. I didn't take my eyes off her. "I heard the cannons. 19 that first night. 19 tributes were gone…why wasn't I? I…I had no way of knowing who was dead. I had no idea if you were still alive…if Haymitch was still out there…. Orion…" she shuddered. "My greatest fear was Orion. I had such a strong feeling he was out there- and I had such a bad sensation he was going to be the one to kill me."

"Ezra, Orion's dead." I explained to help her feel better. "I saw him on the screen. He's dead, don't worry."

"I know." she replied. "I killed him."


	12. Chapter 12

**12 **

"Wh-What?" I stuttered. "You killed- _you what_?" I stared befuddled at Ezra, expecting her to start giggling; expecting her to start laughing and say 'ha, got ya good'. But her expression remained serious as her visionless gaze kept on the flames of the fire pit.

"I heard someone coming." Ezra continued with a sigh. "Heavy, lumbering, boots trudging through the forest. Distant, but approaching my way. I was lying down, my back against a tree trunk. The sound froze my heart. It was the first sound of another tribute I had heard since the Cornucopia. My ears let me know there was only one of them, but he was coming right towards me. I kind of had a plan devised….You see, I had this boulder… a big, heavy, sharp-edged rock. I transformed my jacket into a sack and wrapped the boulder so I could carry it on my back. I quickly climbed little ways up the tree as he got closer and closer. Balancing on a thick branch, I unwrapped my rock. I only had one shot. His lumbering feet crunching on the ground made a clear target, and then I just….aimed. I chucked the rock right where my ears told me he was…and miraculously I aimed correctly. I heard the rock smash his skull. I heard his body collapse to the ground. He was gasping...

"I came down from the tree and approached the guy…He wasn't dead quite yet. Then in between his suffering gasps, he said my name in a bewildered whisper….it was Orion…." Ezra smiled slightly and chuckled. "He just kept stuttering my name in disbelief. I wish I could've seen the look on his face. So want to know what I said to him? I said, '_what was that about me not making it even two minutes?_' Very short after that the cannon fired."

"Ezra…" I began. "That's…that's _incredible_." There wasn't really any other way to respond. Part of my mind just still couldn't register that Ezra, a fourteen-year old blind girl, could kill this built, aggressive, tough eighteen-year old guy_. And with a rock_.

"After the cannon confirmed him dead, I- well, this is going to sound awkward- I searched his person for supplies. He had a knife in his pocket, the backpack with a little food, and this spear." Ezra held the long spear in her hands. "Makes the perfect trekking pole for me. I also used the knife to chop off some of my hair; just as a way to disguise myself from a distance. I guessed tributes had probably memorized me as an easy target."

"That's brilliant."

"At training, I had asked Haymitch to describe to me what the girl Careers looked like. I had remembered him telling me that that District 1 girl Titania had 'dark hair' like mine, but was scruffy and chin short." Once again Ezra sighed, and then shrugged. "So that's pretty much my experiences. Now let me here yours', Maysilee."

"Ha, well my story's not nearly as interesting as yours." So, I told Ezra about everything from the Cornucopia to being here with her now. About Brie saving my life from Orion, about how I managed to make my pointless blowgun a deadly weapon, how I witnessed the alliance of five by the poisoned river and then later saw Liekin battle to death with the male of her alliance, and how I outran the four Career boys. After finishing my tale we both sat in complete silence for a few minutes. "24 dead. 24 still alive." I finally said in a shuddering whisper. I stared blankly at the flickering orange flames of the fire pit as they slowly died out. A chill ran up my spine. As if Ezra could sense it, she scooted over next to me and removed the blanket from her shoulders and placed it around mine. "Thanks." I whispered.

"You thinking about Haymitch?" she asked out of the blue.

"Huh?"

"Are you thinking about where Haymitch is right now?" Ezra reiterated.

"Umm…" It was true; I had been thinking about Haymitch. I had been thinking about him a lot. I hated it. I didn't _want _to think about him…because if I ever saw his face on the projector…

"Maysilee, I may be blind but I'm not stupid. I know you like Haymitch."

"No, no-" I tried in my best cover-up voice. "He's, uh, he's just a friend. Not even. He's….uh…well I didn't even know him that well before the reaping. I-"

"Oh please." Ezra smirked. "You know you talk in your sleep? '_Oh Haymitch…'_" I felt my cheeks go bright red and goosebumps shielded my arms.

"What?" I stammered. "No I don't! …do I really?"

Ezra giggled. "Just a little bit. But hey- I was happy I was hearing '_Oh Haymitch' _and not '_Oh Orion' _, 'cause then I probably would have been puking all night." I joined her in laughter.

"Okay, you caught me." I finally admitted. "But it doesn't matter. I…I can't think about him. I can't think about what's going to happen to…to all of us." I shuddered again. Ezra wrapped her arm around me and rested her head on my shoulder. She had such a comforting gentle touch. We sat there in stillness as the flames illuminating the cave deceased.

"I'll keep first watch." Ezra finally said. "You should get some sleep."

"Oh. Okay. Just- just don't let me sleep too long, okay? And wake me if you hear _anything_ alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." she shushed me.

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It felt like I had only been asleep for five minutes. My back was being poked. I slowly opened my drooping eyes to awaken to pitch darkness and the chilly cave floor. My shoulder was extremely achy from the pressure of the rough ground. Ezra was still poking my back. "Hmm?" I mumbled with a dry throat. "Oh- is it my turn to take watch?" I lifted my heavy head.

"It's raining." said Ezra. "Come on." I heard the tranquil patter of the shower. Stumbling out of the cave into the open of the midnight atmosphere, the pure smell of nature filled my nostrils. The drops traced the contours of my face. Despite the chill; despite the pitifulness of it all, it felt like a gift from God. The drops on my tongue were soft layers of refreshing moisture, seeping inside me. Ezra came out of the cavern behind me with the empty canteen from the backpack. I picked some large leaves from nearby and made cups to catch the downfall. "Oh yes." she moaned while outstretching her arms. "Heaven." Experiencing utter thirst had completely changed my perception of rain. Before I used to associate rain showers with sorrow; raindrops were tears- bitter and briny. Clouding up the bright sky, blocking the sun. Just daggers rushing down- stabbing you. But being desperate and seeing the crystal beads pouring from the sky was now a sign of relief. A sign of life; yet also those sounds of saddened tears are hidden within. "You know Maysilee, we're going to have to go back…back to the Cornucopia. We have no food left…" Ezra explained.

"I know…" I agreed. _Pfft, it's the 'Hunger' Games for sure._ "There's going to be others there…Careers…prepared for kill." As if the whole Arena had heard me say that, a cannon fired. Ezra and I took in a quick gasp. "23…" I whispered. My stomach began to feel queasy. "As soon as you're rested up we should get a move on heading to the Cornucopia."

"I'm fine, I have plenty of energy. Let's get heading now. Traveling in the sound of the rain and in the night would be safer anyway."

"Okay, if you're sure." I nodded. "Let's pack up our stuff." This of course didn't consist of much. Back in the cavern, I wrapped up the blanket and stuffed it into Ezra's backpack along with the now full canteen and empty container that held the dried fruit. Ezra grabbed her spear and I secured the strap of my blowgun on my back. Then we headed out into the rain again.

"Do you know the way to the field?"

"I think I know the general direction." I replied, and I really hoped I _did _know the general way. "It's going to take some time to get to it." And so we began to hike. The rain was loosening up; but I wasn't complaining. We were both refreshed and gorged with plenty of water, and the rain was making the terrain difficult to trudge. Ezra really impressed me. Her spear obtained from Orion helped her as a guide pole and she stayed close to my side. Honestly, I think _I _stumbled more than Ezra did. Regardless of my poor navigation skills, our growling stomachs, and our uncomfortable wet clothing, we were at least lucky enough to be remaining clear of any sight of other tributes on the prowl. "You know, there were 48 of us in this Arena, and yet both of us have barely encountered anyone…the Arena must be huge."

"I bet." nodded Ezra. "Have any clue how close we are to the Cornucopia?"

I wasn't even exactly sure if we had been heading the right way. Ezra and I had been hiking since we left the cave in the rain during the night. The storm clouds by now were far gone, and it was early morning. The sky reflected the most beautiful shade of blue as the sun creeped up from beyond the branches. "The woods are thinning out. I remember running from the field and into the woods- the woods hadn't become real dense until I was about half a mile into it. I guess that means we're probably close." _Hopefully. _My stomach was turning inside out from hunger. Since the Games began, I had hardly consumed anything. A roasted bird. Two apples. Some dried pears. That's it. I wasn't prepared to die of hunger; that would be giving up. And I promised Pazima I wouldn't ever give up- that I would fight till the very end. So if my end was going to be brutally battling a pack of Careers by the Cornucopia while fighting to get my paws on a sack of food, then that was it.

Finally, I caught glimpse of the field- and the shining gold Cornucopia in the center of the field. "We're here." I whispered to Ezra. We kneeled down in the bracken, while I spied from a distance. Oh, there were Careers alright. I counted 8 of them. _8 freaking Careers? Are you kidding me?_ Yup- I was for sure dead. "I need a plan…"

"I'll do whatever I can do to help." Ezra said boldly.

"There's eight of them Ezra. We're going to have to wait until they leave; wait for the perfect time to sneak in." And so we I watched. Even from this distance, I could see the Careers goofing around as they hung at their camp set up right next to the Cornucopia. Four boys and four girls. I saw Titania, and I'm pretty sure the four boys were the same tributes who chased me last night. There was still plenty of supplies scattered around. Mostly knapsacks and food sorts; I didn't spot many weapons. Surprisingly it looked as though everything was left exactly how it was when the Games began. I half expected the Careers would have piled up all the gear and hoard it to themselves. _No, because it's bait. _That was it- they were using it all as bait. To them, they were the fishermen and the rest of us were all little minnows. They know we all will be more tempted to strike if we think we have a better chance. They were reeling us into their trap. "There're bags not so close to them; but it's just a trap." I explained. "They're trying to draw us in."

"So…what do we do? Wait for them to leave?"

"I guess so. I think the boys are the ones who chased me. I guess that means they just don't stay there at their camp all the time." I responded. Ezra and I just sat there and waited. My hunger wasn't getting any better, and neither was my energy. Ezra was dozing off, but I didn't keep my eye off of the Cornucopia. Watching the Careers feast on food began to make me sick. _Just leave. LEAVE. Leave! Go away!_ Too bad my mind controlling powers weren't working.

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"HEY! Do you guys hear?" shouted a voice. I had begun to doze off as well, but the sound awoke both me and Ezra. From the field, one of the female Careers was calling to the others.

"What is it Lucretia?" called back one of the boys.

"Inducement." Lucretia sneered back. "And lots of it. Get your weapons ready!" As if on cue, that very second an alliance of four came charging toward the Cornucopia from the opposite side of where Ezra and I were hiding. My eyes widened as the four dashing tributes roared and lifted their swords for battle. All eight Careers began charging toward them in response; revealing their hidden weapons as well. This was it! This was it!

"Ezra! I'm heading in! Stay right here, I'll be right back. As soon as I get back be prepared to run!" and then I sprinted out into the field; dartgun in my hand. The Careers were too busy in combat to even notice me. Their backs were facing me, and I was heading right for the two nearest backpacks I could see. My heart was racing, yet I felt an uncontrollable grin forming across my face. Those charging tributes were the best distraction I could have asked for. I didn't dare glimpse over to peek at the battle happening- it would only slow me down. I swooped up the first knapsack and tossed it across my back. Then I came to the second. After I had both bags, I turned completely around and didn't dare delay in my pace. Sweat trickled down my forehead. _Almost there, almost there. _I collided into Ezra as I returned to the shrubbery. "Come on!" I panted. I grabbed her hand and continued to zoom.

"Did you get food?" Ezra gasped as we ran. "Are there Careers chasing us?"

"I got two bags!" I replied elatedly. "And I don't know, but better not take any chances!" Eventually our wheezing lungs got the best of both of us. Deeper in the woods, we both collapsed to the ground. "Don't...throw…up." I sputtered in between heavy breaths. "I…can't…believe….the luck." We both giggled.

"Okay- now let's check out these bags." Ezra croaked. I unzipped the first backpack. It was a big black one, and it had felt pretty heavy.

"Oh yes." I murmured happily as I pulled out a package of dried meat. "There's some jerky and a good amount of fruit in this bag." I explained. "Also there's another canteen- empty-, a thin towel, and a pocket knife." I reached for the second sack. It was much smaller, and an obnoxious color of yellow. I unzipped and removed its' contents. "This one's got some more preserved meat and dried apricots, and some rope. That's all." Lifting my head up, I saw Ezra had already begun munching on the jerky. She threw the package at me.

"Eat. It's _sooo_ good." she moaned. And so I did. As much as I wanted to ingest every last bit of food I had claimed in one gulp, Ezra and I made sure to take it easy and try to make it all last as long as possible. "Well I'm now content." Ezra said after our small banquet. "Exhausted, but content."

I chuckled. "Me too. Hey, I'm going to ditch this yellow bag and distribute the rest between our too backpacks."

"And I'm going to pretend I know what colors are." Ezra shrugged. "But gosh Maysilee- I can't believe the luck. Eight Careers and none of them even noticed you."

"Yeah." When we had been running away from the field, we had heard a total of five cannon fires. Ezra and I had both supposed the four tributes that had charged at the Careers were all killed, and that they had only managed to kill one of the Careers. The sun was already beginning to set again. Ezra and I found another place to rest for the night, but it wasn't as secluded as the cave. Hidden by flourishing bushes, Ezra and I lied down and wrapped the blankets around us.

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I stare at the sky that night; listening to the Capitol anthem as the projector showed six faces. Still no Haymitch. I took a breath of relief. Ezra was fast asleep; I had first watch.

I had found Ezra, I had managed to obtain plenty of food to last us both a good while….but the Games were far from being over.

"18 tributes left." I gulped as the anthem seized. "30 people dead…"


	13. Chapter 13

**13**

I'm in my meadow. Where the fragrance of ripe strawberries fills my senses. Where the sky is clear and cloudless. Where the birds sing melodies as I lie in a beautiful white dress of satin in the tall grass. A crisp breeze sooths my skin. Haymitch, dressed in a clean white t-shirt and baggy jeans, lies beside me with his arm wrapped around my shoulders. He smells of fresh cotton. In the distance I see Pazima, Noraleen, Ezra, and Yule giggling as they chase one another playfully in the field. They're all wearing pearly white attire too. My skin feels soft and for the first time in my life I feel utterly relaxed. There is nothing weighing me down now- just the arm of my true love draped around me. I am happy; I am at peace.

Am I in heaven? No- I knew I was dreaming. I knew it was all too perfect to be real. Haymitch leans in toward my ear. "Maysilee?" he whispers in a sweet gentle tone. I blush.

"Yes?"

"Kiss me." And then he leans in to my face. A fairytale come true. His lips send butterflies fluttering to my stomach. It's the best feeling in the world.

But suddenly everything begins to shake. The ground is quaking and cracking open. My head starts spinning and the vibrations are unbearable. I stare back to see Haymitch and find him gone- completely disappeared. I no longer see the others out in the field. I am alone as my meadow begins to shatter. The sky is now black, and the meadow is beginning to set fire. Smoke fills the air and I begin to choke.

Choking.

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"MAYSILEE!" It's Ezra's scream. Flashing my eyes open, I find myself back on the forest floor beside Ezra. It takes me a split second to realize what's going on. The air is thick with fog…wait, not fog. Smoke. Thick, warm smoke. Suddenly the ground is vibrating- just like how it had in my dream. The shaking must have been what affected my fantasy. "What's going on?" Ezra yells again, reaching out for me.

"I don't know! I think it's an earthquake!" I reply apprehensively. I sensed it wasn't just an earthquake. Something big was happening. "We've got to get out of here, Ezra. Grab your stuff!" I began to become frightened. Not knowing what's going on isn't exactly something I deal well with.

"Is it smoking? Why is there smoke?" Ezra stutters as she stumbles to grab her backpack and spear. Quickly we throw our sacks over our backs and I grasp Ezra's arm. To my right, I hear distant screaming. _To the left it is then._ My heart is pounding a mile a minute. Ezra's shaking like crazy as I begin to guide her in a gradual run. Suddenly what sounds like fifty cannons combined echoes. The impact from the blow knocks both me and Ezra to the ground. When I finally open my eyes, ashes fall from the heavy smoke cloud above. We are both coughing madly. I lift Ezra back off from the ground. "Oh god what's going on?" she cries. "I can barely hear anything! Maysilee?" And it's true- the earthquake was so loud it was blocking out my ear drums.

"Ezra, I'm here. We've got to keep running." _We're not going to die now. Not this way._ Half-blinded by the dense smoke and guiding my completely sightless ally through the woods away from it all was practically impossible. What looked like meteorites began dropping out of the sky with loud, whistling fires. Fireballs- that's what they were. Tears were streaming down my face, but I kept pushing on, pulling Ezra behind me. She began to slow down as her coughing fit worsened. "Come on Ezra." I cried. "We can't give up now. We're going to get out of this." _We're going to get out of this!_ The fire was spreading as the sky continued to chuck flaming rocks down toward us. The earth was still intensely quaking. My eardrums were ringing. Apart from the thundering of boulders and crackling fire, I could still hear the distant screams of tributes. My back began to burn. Gazing over my shoulder, I widened at the sight of my jacket on fire. "SHIT!" I yanked the thing off and threw it aside. "Ezra take your jacket off- it's caught fire too!" As Ezra yanked off her coat leaving her in just the black tank top, I noticed she had also lost her backpack as well as her spear. _That's not important now; I've got to get us both out of here alive. _But the fire and smoke didn't ease up. Flaming ashes sizzled on my bare shoulders. A fire erupting earthquake? No- something was telling me that that snow-capped mountain I had seen when the Games began wasn't a mountain. _A volcano… _

"Maysilee…" Ezra was coughing and collapsing to the ground. "Maysilee just…go."

"Ezra I'm not leaving you!" I snapped with tears streaming down my face. "Ezra!" She had completely tumbled down. Without a second thought I scooped her up in my arms. "Stay with me Ezra! I'm going to get us out of this!" But even my words sounded hopeless. _Keep fighting. Stay brave till the very end. _The fire was all around- my head was spinning as the smoke messed with my mind. _Which way? Which way?_ I picked the direction that appeared to be the least dense. I ran and ran… _God- let me get out of this alive. _But I realized I no longer believed in a God right now. In the Hunger Games, there was no God.

My aching legs were robotic now- as much as I wanted to be able to stop running; my mechanical feet wouldn't let me. Even though Ezra was probably half my own weight, my arms had become numb. Slowly the quaking was coming to an end, but the fire and smoke wasn't. "We can do this, Ezra." I tried to whisper, though I doubted she could hear me. My voice had no life whatsoever. I needed water desperately. My coughing fit wasn't loosening up. …but Ezra's was. _No._

I tripped. Ezra and I went sailing to the hard ground. Fire was all around us. "I'm s- sorry. Y-you o-okay?" I stuttered in between winded gasps. Ezra didn't move. I dove beside her. "EZRA! Stay with me! Can you hear me? Ezra!"

"Go." she replied heartbreakingly. "D-Don't…give up now Maysilee. Please, get ou-out of h-here."

"No," I whispered. Tears flooded my eyes and poured down my cheeks. "_Please._"

"Goodbye, Maysilee." Ezra murmured. I held her hand tight as she closed her eyelids. Her breathing came to a stop. I pressed my head to her heart and listened as it came to a gentle end.

"Goodbye Ezra." I choked. I quickly kissed her cheek and stumbled back up to my feet, failing to take a deep breath. A cannon fired. Another one would fire too if I didn't get out of the fire. '_Please get out of here'…_I won't let you down Ezra. I'll get out of here.

I continued to run.

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The smoke was loosening up. At least I thought it was- my mind was still whirling. With much struggle, I had managed to get out of the brush fire. Stinging burns scorched my arms, and my entire body was black with soot. My entire body was throbbing- like I had been hit by a train. When I finally felt safe, I toppled to the ground. The air was much clearer and fresh. I took some heavy wheezing breaths, but it didn't help much. My whole body was trembling. I didn't know what felt the worse- my debilitated body, the agonizing burns that covered my arms, my spinning headache, my dehydrated throat, or the pain of watching Ezra die. I reached for my backpack and unzipped the tethered bag. I yanked out my precious canteen of water. _Ezra's _canteen. I took a few large gulps to soothe my throat. Then, I took a few capfuls to clean off the burns.

Back leaning against a tree, I closed my eyes. Nothing but absolute silence now. No more screams. No more cannon fires. No more roaring of growing flames. All the birds that had filled the branches of the forest had fled. No tweeting melodies. Just my own flashback of the whole nightmare. I pulled my legs to my chest and wept. I sounded like a baby…I wanted to go home. _Come on Maysilee! If you don't pull yourself together you'll never be able to go home! Stay brave and fight to the end! _I wiped my wet cheeks dry, and took some more deep breaths. Ezra was my friend- I had watched her die…that memory was scarred in my mind now for life. But what happened, happened. Crying wasn't going to bring Ezra back. _"It's alright to feel sad, but crying solves nothing." _my parents had taught Yule, Noraleen, and I. For now I had to put aside the sadness; for now I had to let it go. It was time to focus.

After a long rest by the tree, I gathered my stuff- a now empty canteen, half of the food that Ezra and I had split up between our bags, a torn up blanket that I had used strips of as bands for my bleeding injuries, a pocket knife, a few feet of rope, and my dart gun. I needed to keep moving on. I was safe from the fire and thick smoke, but I wanted to head toward more fresher air.

"A volcano…" I muttered to myself disgustingly as I trekked. I wondered how many tributes had been killed by it. Certainly many were at least weakened by it. Well, I'd see tonight just how many faces would appear on the projector. Once again I thought about Haymitch. Where the hell was he? Was he nearby when the volcano erupted? Was he alive? Suddenly another booming sound broke my wandering thoughts. Paranoid, I dove to the ground and covered my head, half-expecting more flaming rocks. Instead I was greeted by the gentle trickle of rain. It soothed my burns wonderfully. _At least the fire will be put out, _I thought. I filled up my canteen and simply lied there while the refreshing drops poured down. The rainstorm didn't last long though; soon the clouds had passed and the afternoon sun was again shining. "_What do I do now?_" I questioned myself. What _could_ I do? Stay hidden and just wait? Go out looking for kill? Attempt to find Haymitch? Whatever it was, I had to try to keep my mind off of Ezra. The world was watching; I couldn't afford to appear weak now.

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That night, I lay uncomfortably in an oak tree, secured by a knot of rope. The Capitol anthem came to a finish. A total of nine tributes had died today. _9 tributes. _Seeing Ezra's face made me weep. Yet still, no Haymitch; he was still out there. A majority of the Careers had been killed by the volcano. Titania was still out there, too though. And so was that girl Liekin.

Suddenly I realized: nine more tributes dead meant…there was only 9 of us left.


	14. Chapter 14

**Okay! So here it is finally! I apologize for the long time with no update. : But I'm back so, yay! Smiles :3 ! Please review/comment if you can! (Love reading the reviews! ^^) In related news, some of my friends and I have begun creating films of scenes from the story! It's a work in progress, but hopefully some day soon we can post our completed film! **

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><p><strong>14<strong>

_Beep. Beep. Beep. _It was such a soft tone, but gently it was approaching. I had become immune to the natural alarm clock of singing morning birds, but this beeping was peculiar. The glare of the bright rising sun stung my eyes as I looked around for what I initially thought sounded like a time bomb. I was not mentally prepared to run for my life through some type of explosion again. Actually, I don't think I'd ever be prepared to go through something like that again. My muscles tensed and my eyes darted anxiously as the beeping noise came closer. It was right on top of me now. Lifting my head up, I finally saw it- a gift from heaven. Trapped dangling from a branch a few feet above my head was a glorious silver parachute. _A silver parachute. _Surely it couldn't be for me, could it? But how? Did I really have sponsors? There were enough viewers out there that believed I was going to win to be able to send me such a rare and special gift? Without another thought, I untied the rope that strapped me to the thick tree branch and lifted my achy upward. My trembling hand reached for the small titanium container that hung from the parachute. What could possibly be inside? I couldn't think of anything I particularly desperately wanted or needed. I still had plenty of food and a good amount of useful materials. I supposed my fantasy gift would be some sort of water purifier that I could use against the poison water sources, but even I knew something that spectacular was a mere dream. Or at least maybe some medicine of some sort for my burns? Greedily I pried open the container. My eager heart stopped racing and the excitement I had been feeling completely evaporated at the site of what my sponsors had sent me. _I had gotten enough sponsors for Coltrane to send me a parachute and THIS is what he sends me? _

Disappointed, I picked up the compass. A compass. A damn compass. Out of _all _the things he could have sent me, he sends me a freaking dumb compass. I was about to chuck the stupid silver compass when I remembered I was on live television. Throwing away the gift my sponsors supported in getting me wouldn't probably sit too well with them. And I _was_ grateful knowing there were people out there that believed in me and that I could win this thing. But on the same token, why would Coltrane send me something as pointless as a compass? Something was up. After climbing down the tree, I twisted the small silver circle around in my fingers. I watched the arrow spin as it was determined to stay pointing north. Just as I was about to tuck it away into my bag, something on the back side of the compass caught my eye. A small engraving.

_"N=H. –Coltrane"_ it read. So it wasn't just a stupid gift! It was a note from Coltrane; a note meant to help me. So N obviously meant north. North equals H. H….H….Haymitch! North equals Haymitch! Haymitch was north! Coltrane was watching the Games. He saw everything- all the tributes and where they are, the whole Arena; all the things I wish I could see. Coltrane knows where Haymitch is, and he's trying to get me to find him. Coltrane wants me to team up with Haymitch! Being the crazy girl I am, I pushed the compass to my lips and gave it a kiss. "Thank you Coltrane!" I caroled quietly. "Haymitch- here I come."

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Around midmorning I heard another cannon fire. I took a deep gulp- eight tributes left. How had I made it this far? There were forty-eight of us to start. Forty tributes have died…but why haven't I? I had barely even encountered many tributes. I had killed no one. Not that I'm upset with that, of course. I decided to take a break on my journey following my compass north. I took a seat on a rock on the top of a cliff. It had been quite easy to climb, thanks to my handy rock climbing skills. From up here I could see a good clearing of the woods and still stay out of view. I snacked on some dried jerky and fooled around with my blowdart gun practicing aiming. My weapon was becoming more crucial to have as the numbers decreased. From watching past Games, I have come to the conclusion that when there are less than ten tributes left in the Arena, everyone starts to become more vicious. I guess it's because everyone has more hope that they can actually win this thing; that the odds will be in their favor and they can be the last one standing. I won't be the one going out looking for a fight, but I knew I was sure to encounter a blood thirsty tribute sooner or later. Titania was still out there, too. Titania, me, Haymitch, Liekin from District 8…and four others. It was crazy to think.

Just as I was finishing up my snack and getting ready to keep heading north, I heard a familiar voice from just below the cliff. My heart froze and I soundlessly moved so I that I was lying on the ground peeking over the edge. Below I saw Titania approaching from one side, and Liekin facing her on the other.

"I saw that earlier, by the way." Titania called to Liekin. Liekin face read fear, and she was slowly backing away as Titania slowly approached her. "The way you killed that young District 10 girl this morning. She never even saw it coming."

"Shut up." spat Liekin, almost tearing up. Titania chuckled at Liekin's fright and continued with her sarcastic taunting.

"The way you knifed her right in the gut." Titania smirked.

"Stop it!" Liekin cried, now trembling.

"Why are you upset? You should be proud of yourself. That was an excellent kill. Your brother would be proud. That was your brother you came in here with, right?

"Don't talk about my brother!" Liekin snapped. "You don't know me."

"I know you're a murderer. But hey, aren't we all murderers in here?"

"I AM NOT A MURDERER!" Liekin yelled, tears running from her eyes.

"You had an alliance in the very beginning. But one of your allies betrayed the group, yes? Tsk. He killed your brother, so you killed him back. A life for a life, right?" said Titania.

Liekin stared baffled at her. "How…how did-"

"How did I know?" Titania completed her question. "Because I'm the smartest, strongest, most powerful tribute in the Arena, that's how. But you're smart too, I hear. You know, you and I would make an excellent alliance. What do you say?"

"No." Liekin quickly responded. "I want no alliance with you."

"Well of course, you know, then I have to kill you. Right now." Titania sneered. Titania pulled out a hand axe from behind her back. It was stained red. "Last chance. Allies?"

Liekin's eyes widen as Titania continued to approach her. She continued to back away, but at the same time was pulling out a knife from her pocket.

"Alright, if that's the way you want it." Titania laughed. Then she dove for Liekin with a swing of her axe. Liekin dodged her attack and counteracted with an attempt with the knife to her back. But Titania, of course, avoided it. I watched from the cliff frozen; not knowing what to do. I had been in the same position when I watched Liekin battle it out with the boy that had betrayed their alliance. I prayed to God that Liekin could beat Titania, but I knew her chances weren't so high. Titania was one really strong Career, and her ego would never allow her to lose. I didn't want to just lay here and be a bystander. If I could help Liekin take her down, perhaps Liekin and I could assist each other. But if I couldn't…Titania would rip me to pieces.

What if I used my dart gun? I knew I could reach her from up here with a dart, and if I missed she probably wouldn't even notice. Might as well try. Down below things were really heating up with Liekin and Titania, but both girls were holding their ground. Still lying belly down, I positioned my blowgun to my mouth and tried to get a precise aim. It was especially difficult since Titania was constantly moving. Finally, I took a deep breath and blew. So close… but it whizzed right past her face. My theory had been completely wrong- both Liekin and Titania noticed the dart. It stuck to a tree, right next to Titania. Both girls stopped fighting as she approached the tree and yanked out the dart. By the time Titania turned to my direction to see where the dart had come from, Liekin was already dashing away through the woods. Titania saw me- and she gave me the stare of death. _Oh damn. What the hell did I just do?_ I could try to take another blow to hit her, but Titania's glare was scaring the crap out of me. I decided to take the cowardly way out and run. I didn't know if she would chase me, but if she did I could probably lose her through the woods. The cliff would take her awhile to climb anyway. Grabbing my stuff and speeding away, I heard Titania's distant yell.

"Go ahead and run. I'll get you 12!" Her effrontery echoed through my ears. It was extremely provoking. The last thing I wanted was to be killed by Titania.

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Late afternoon came quickly. _Gosh Coltrane, how far North is Haymitch anyway?_ I had been trekking all day and had had no luck of finding even some clue where Haymitch was. I visualized being hit in the back of the head with a big roll of bread and then turning to see him leaning against a tree with a smirk on his face. It totally seemed like something he would do, even in the Arena. Walking with no accompany allows my mind to wander off into outrageous thoughts. What if I find Haymitch but he doesn't want to team up? What if the Games changed him, like they do with practically all tributes? What if _I've_ changed and I don't know it? What if he just wants to kill me right then and there?

No. This was Haymitch. Haymitch who I had only vaguely known before the reaping but managed to completely fall for in a mere few days. Haymitch who came to see me after I was suspended from training. Haymitch- who's lips filled my stomach with fluttering butterflies.

Haymitch- who according to Ezra I whisper his name in my sleep.

Thinking of Ezra, I stood still and closed my eyes. If I couldn't see Haymitch, maybe I could hear him. I listened to my surroundings. I had nowhere near as excellent hearing as Ezra had had, but I could still decipher the sounds around me. Calls of birds. A distant rushing river. And then the snapping crunch of boots on sticks. Opening my eyes I followed my ears. _Please oh please by Haymitch._ As I approached closer to the sound, I realized there wasn't just one. I heard deep grunts. A fight was going on right now. Then I saw them- Haymitch dueling it out against three male tributes. They were Careers. They had him surrounded and were attacking from all directions. I stayed hidden behind a tree trunk, but didn't keep my eyes off the fight. Haymitch's black shirt was stained with some blood. There were bleeding and scabbed gashes all over his body. Despite how torn up he appeared, Haymitch held nothing back in his counterattacks. I watched one Career take him to the ground. Haymitch kicked him hard in the chest off of him and jumped right back up. Another one of the tributes only had a heavy branch as a weapon. He was the first one Haymitch was able to kill with his sharp blade. A cannon confirmed the kill. The two last tributes wouldn't rest though. They were in for some hard core kill. The battle was ferocious and brutal. I would have no chance jumping in the fight to support Haymitch, and with the way these three were moving, I couldn't take the risk with my blowgun darts. It would be impossible to get a good aim without probability of hitting Haymitch. After much struggle Haymitch finally took down the second Career. One more to go. _Come on Haymitch, come on!_

No- The tribute managed to get Haymitch in a head lock. Haymitch couldn't move. "Say goodbye." muttered the Career as he prepared to slice his throat. NO! I blew my dart. It hit the Career right in the neck. _Score!_ The boy began to cough up blood, and his shaking hand yanked out the dart from his neck. _Too_ _late bro, that poison is already doing it's magic._ He collapsed to the ground, crumpling on top of Haymitch. I slowly sidestepped from behind the brush as Haymitch pulled himself from underneath the dead Career.

I don't exactly know what I expected Haymitch's reaction to be when he saw me. I guess I don't know what my reaction was going to be, either. But when Haymitch lifted his head to see who had saved his life, he almost looked sad to see me. Haymitch looked like he had changed. I didn't see that spark of life I had seen in his eyes before. We both stared at one another for some few awkward seconds. _Yeah…really awkward reuniting. _Finally I broke the ice.

"We'd live longer with two of us." I said.

"I guess you just made that clear." Haymitch replied while wiping away some blood trickling down his lip. "Allies?" I nodded my head.

"It's good to see you." I tried to grin. Haymitch didn't reply. He wasn't happy to see me here. He wasn't happy to see me alive. But I understood. Because was I really happy to see him alive? There were five of us left. Only one of us was going home. There was still no hope for the two of us together. The Games had changed Haymitch. They had changed me, too. I could tell Haymitchs' brain was muffled. So was mine.

But if I was going to die, I wanted my last moments to be with Haymitch.


	15. Chapter 15

**15**

Talk about awkward silence; you don't know the definition of awkward silences. Haymitch and I had walked all day. To where? I have absolutely no idea. Haymitch was leading the way. I was just following. Finally we took a rest to rehydrate.

"You have any water left?" Haymitch asked me after seeing his own canteen was dry. Unzipping my bag, I found that my own canteen was empty as well.

"Nope." I sighed. "Hopefully it will rain soon."

"Yeah." Haymitch muttered. He withdrew a knife and a bruised apple from his knapsack. Slicing it in two, he handed half to me. We devoured our pieces in mere seconds. We were resting on the trunk of a fallen tree, and I just glared at my boots feeling extremely uncomfortable. I thought being with Haymitch would calm me; even make me happy. Make him happy, too. But it was just very awkward for the both of us. We had kissed before the Games…and it had felt like magic. Like nothing else mattered. Now it felt as if we were pretending none of that ever happened, as if we were strangers. I needed to make the first move- the silence was just way to eerie. Just as I was about to turn to him, I felt his gentle hand stroking down my arm. Goosebumps covered my skin. "How did you get so burned?" Haymitch asked in a soft tone.

I felt my cheeks turn warm. "Oh- I…it was the volcano. You saw that, right?"

"I saw the smoke and the mushroom cloud and felt the quaking. You were in that?"

I nodded. "Yea-yeah." I shivered. "Ezra and I were caught in the middle of it…" Suddenly my mind was racing with the flashbacks of the volcano. Of the smoke…the fire…Ezra dying in my arms… I held back my tears.

"Ezra was with you the whole time?" Haymitch asked curiously.

"No. I- we found each other in the woods at night…we scared the shit out of each other. Ezra…she killed Orion, you know." Haymitch's jaw dropped and eyebrows creased. I told him Ezra's story, and then continued on with my own. Haymitch listened to everything. "I just…I can't believe….48 of us and now…" I didn't even know what to say.

"I know." he nodded. Next I was expecting to hear Haymitch's experiences in the Arena, but he clearly showed he didn't want to talk about it. "Come on. Let's keep moving." He got up and started marching off. Sighing, I threw my pack over my back with my blowgun and trotted to catch up with him.

"Hey!" I called after him. Haymitch wouldn't slow. Finally I took an aggravated huff and crossed my arms leaning against an oak. He turned back.

"We have to keep moving. We can't stop." he repeated tiredly.

I shook my head irately. "Why?" I finally blurted. Haymitch just stared at me. "I'm not going any further without an answer, Haymitch."

"Listen, this has to end somewhere right? The Arena can't just go on forever."

"What do you expect to find?"

Haymitch turned and started walking away again, this time slower. "I dunno. Something we can use, I guess." I rolled my eyes and continued to follow behind him. The sun was setting fast and I could already feel the cool chill of the night air creeping upon me. _Why did my darn coat have to catch fire? _Okay- so if Haymitch was just going to be silent, I needed to think of things to keep my mind occupied. _Think warm_ _thought Maysilee. Crisp fires. Mom's fresh baked bread loafs, tight hugs…Haymitch kissing me._ Gah! _Snap out of it Maysilee! Focus!_ Suddenly out of nowhere I was tackled to the ground. My wandering mind had really distracted me. "Hey! What was that for?" I began to yell at Haymitch. He was on top of me on the ground, and he covered my mouth.

"Shhh." he whispered while withdrawing a knife. My heart froze for a split second and then I carefully fumbled for a firm grip on my dart gun. If it was Titania I was taking her down. Her threat still lingered in my head…._I'll get you, 12…._ Haymitch and I slowly popped our heads up from behind the brush. A small field opening lay before us. A little squirrel frolicked across. It was quiet….too quiet. Then the screeching began. "KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!" Haymitch shouted and pushed me back into the shrubbery. The screeching pierced my ears. I'm sure if I had a glass bowl it would shatter. Haymitch wrapped me underneath him and covered my head with his hands while I covered my own ears. "What is that?" I tried to ask but I couldn't even hear myself ask it. I could feel shadows casting above us. I peeked up and saw a flock of maybe a dozen pink birds diving into the middle of the meadow. They were extremely large and had long sharp beaks. No doubt they were some weird deadly mutation created by the Gamemakers. Haymitch and I both yet again peered up from the shrub and tried to get a glimpse at what was going on. The pink birds were fighting for the squirrel being torn to pieces. They resembled a blood thirsty pack of Careers.

"Back away slowly and quietly." Haymitch whispered into my ear. "Those things see us and we're as dead as that squirrel." I nodded and felt myself shivering as I scooted backwards with Haymitch. We didn't keep our eyes off them, but this made it quite difficult to avoid snapping any twigs or dried up leaves. Luckily the pink birds were too occupied with their dinner. "Okay Maysilee, I think we're going to be good. Just keep silent and stand up and head back toward the woods." I nodded and did what Haymitch told me. When I finally felt safe and out of view from the birds deeper in the forest, I turned to Haymitch and released a heavy breath.

"What _were_ those things?" I demanded of Haymitch.

"I'm not exactly sure." he shrugged. "All I know is they're exceedingly lethal. I saw three of those pink birds take out an entire alliance of four without even a struggle."

"I guess we're just really lucky then." I replied.

"Right." Haymitch agreed. "Lucky." Because truly- that's what I believe everything comes down to in the Arena. You can be an excellent archer, climber, fighter, hunter, or whatever. In the end none of it really matters though. You never know where your skills will take you; if they'll even be helpful for you or not. Because in the Hunger Games, anything can happen. You can be on your merry way and then some random beast can come out of nowhere and kill you just like that. And I guess that's something I've learned in the past few days…that unexpecting things can happen at any time, and there's no way you can prepare for them.

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That night I lay awake on the gold ground trying so hard to fall asleep. Haymitch had first watch, and I didn't want to waste his time by staying awake. The woods were pitch black. The atmosphere was exactly how it had been in my dream the night before the Reaping. Except I wasn't alone. I had Haymitch, which counted as the safest place in the Arena. If only if wasn't so god-damn freezing. My teeth chattered like mad and I couldn't get my legs to stop vibrating. Closing my eyes really tight wasn't helping me catch some z's either. I listened to Haymitch unzipping something. His knapsack? He was going to eat without me? Suddenly I felt something warm cover my body. Haymitch's coat. _He must really care about me…_ still pretending to be asleep, I grinned slightly. And then his fingertips- oh god his fingertips! Brushing down my face, he pulled my tangled blonde hair away from my face and tucked it behind my ear.

And then what came next I may never know if it was reality or just a dream. "I love you Maysilee." he whispered in the most gentle tone imaginable.


	16. Chapter 16

**16**

Ice cold needles pricking my entire body. My eyes dart open in a flash to the surprise of a cool rain shower. It all felt wondrous on my bruised and burnt skin. Suddenly I realize it's early dawn. Whipping my head to Haymitch who's sitting on a tree log, I give him a stern glare. "Hey- you were supposed to wake me up for my watch shift." I said. "Why'd you let me sleep the whole night?"

Haymitch tried to smirk back. "You looked so peaceful in your sleep." he replied jokingly. "Besides, I wasn't all that tired."

"You've got restless bags under your eyes." I answered with my hands on my hips. "You really should have woken me up and got some sleep. But…thank you." I unzipped my knapsack and pulled out my empty canteen to fill up. My stomach was moaning, but I was used to hunger and put the thought of eating in the back of my mind. Haymitch and I had only a little food left, and we really needed to try to conserve it. We sat in silence in the refreshing rain as we patiently waited for our canteens to fill. We made large funnels out of leaves to speed up the process. I thought about what I had heard last night. Or what I had _thought _I had heard. Had Haymitch really said that we loved me? Was I dreaming? How would I find out? If I bring it up now, it could be really awkward…especially if he hadn't really said it. And if he did say that he loved me, he obviously thought I was asleep. I wonder if the Capitol had caught it on camera. He had said it so so very quietly though….

Just as the rain was slowly coming to a halt, an unexpecting cannon fire boom knocked both me and Haymitch to the ground. Either Titania, Liekin, or that boy tribute who I had yet to seen was dead. Four left. I felt undefinable braille flow over my skin. Before I could say something to Haymitch, he stood up and threw his backpack over his shoulder. "Let's keep moving." And so we did.

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It's high noon. The black clothes I wear absorb in the scorching heat from the sun as Haymitch and I silently trek to the top of a Cliffside. I could tell Haymitch knew this was it- That at the top of this cliff was the edge of the Arena. What he expected to find was beyond me. The only thing I kept thinking was the number four. Four lingered in my mind ripping apart any thoughts I planned on having. Four….four more tributes. 48 to 4… Haymitch stops dead in his tracks in front of me and I stumble. "What is it?" I whisper. He doesn't reply. He turns to face me; no fear in his eyes.

"Maysilee….whatever happens…I want you to know that I'm happy I was reaped." Haymitch says in a serious tone. I probably would have snorted if he wasn't being so serious.

"Why?" I whisper confusingly.

"Because I believe everything happens for a reason. Everything. And I think my reason for being reaped was to meet you."

I stare shocked at him, eyes wide. "Well…we…we already knew each other kind of-" I began.

"No. I meant I needed to meet you this way. Being in the same class and barely talking to each other doesn't count as knowing each other. Maysilee- if I never was reaped then I would have never had the experience to….to _know _you."

I began to get a little teary. I didn't know what to say. "I…"

"You were awake last night….weren't you…" Haymitch said almost murmuring. I felt even more embarrassed. I didn't need to answer either; Haymitch knew. "I meant it...what I said." As if he didn't want to hear what I was going to say in return, Haymitch turned back and continued the hike. I followed behind with my heart throbbing with such confused and sad feelings. Finally we reached the peak. A long deadly drop below, with no real way to get to the bottom easily. We stood there in disappointed silence.

"That's all there is, Haymitch." I said softly. "Let's go back now."

"No." he replied. "I'm….I'm staying here." I gazed up at him with a solemn stare. _This was it…wasn't it?_ I had to do it now…I had to leave Haymitch before it came down to the unthinkable.

"There are only four of us left…" I begin with my voice cracking. "We might as well say goodbye now…don't want it to come down to the two of us…" My heart felt like it had cracked in two. Haymitch kept his back to me. Facing me would be too hard for him. Because we both knew this was the last time we were ever going to see each other.

"Ok." he finally answered. "And Maysilee….never forget what I said last night…okay?"

"Ok." I sniffled. And then I turned and began walking down the way we had come up, leaving Haymitch for the last time. I felt dizzy and clumsy. Half-way down I began arguing to myself. _You should have told him you love him too, Maysilee! You're an idiot! No, that would have made it harder for both of us. Why didn't you kiss him? Because I just couldn't!_ It was too late anyway. I couldn't turn back to him now. I had to keep marching on.

I thought a lot about what Haymitch had said- about how he believes everything happens for a reason. And perhaps he's right. If I never got reaped I would have never fallen in love with Haymitch. And if that's for the better or for the worst, it had to happen. My life never would have been complete without knowing him, or even Ezra. Both of them opened up my mind to whole new things in the short time that I got to know them. I felt like a stronger person. And if I was going to die in the Arena- then I am proud to die as being who I am.

I was just about to head back into the forest, when a familiar screech filled my eardrums. _No. No…not this way…I don't want to die this way…_ The screeching becomes louder and louder. _Stay brave. Stay fighting till the very end. _I begin to run, but even I knew there was no way I was going to be able to out run the pink birds. I could see the shadows of a flock of them gaining on me. Then the first one struck. The pain was unimaginable; I didn't even have enough time to react. Soon I felt the whole swarm of them on top of me. I collapse to the ground screaming. Their sharp beaks dive into my flesh tearing it apart. The remainders of my body would be a gory horrendous mess. I can't shake even one of them off of me. My lungs felt like they were going to burst with all the screaming I was producing. Distantly a cannon fires. I am not dead…Haymitch or Titania or the other remaining tribute has been killed. But I was going to be any second, too. With the boom of the cannon, the flock of pink birds takes flight in fear, leaving me pooling in my own blood in the field. I am trembling with pain. My eyes clouded with tears.

"MAYSILEE!" Haymitch yells from nearby. He's running toward me. Diving next to me, Haymitch takes my hand and squeezes it tight. Somewhere inside my gory body I feel the comfort of Haymitch's touch. "I'm here, Maysilee." he says in a soothing voice. "I'm here till the very end." The very end was dawning upon me.

With all the energy I have left, I attempt to speak. "I…I l-…I love you, too." I whisper. Haymitch grips my hand tighter.

I feel the world dying around me. Everything becomes a blur. The sun above me is becoming larger and larger- blocking everything from view. A blinding white light. Suddenly the pain is gone. I take a deep breath. A figure is approaching from the white light. I look wildly into the eyes of Ezra in front of me. And she looks back at me- her sight fully restored. Her black hair is long again and it flows to meet a beautiful white dress of satin. Ezra gives me a smile and I smile back. She gives me her palm, and I grasp in tight.

I am finally heading to my meadow. For the first and last time.

THE END


	17. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**_15 YEARS LATER. _**

It's a rainy morning in District 12. One of those mornings where all you want to do is stay inside the comfort of your own house and curl up with the ones you love.

"Mum, I don't want to go to school today."

Pazima Everdeen grins to herself while brushing the long brown hair of her daughter. "As oppose to what, practicing archery in the woods?" Thunder crackles outside, and Katniss jumps.

"Hm…maybe not." she laughs. Pazima begins to pull aside her daughter's hair in three parts.

"How about a beautiful braid?"

"That's what you always do." Katniss giggles. "Of course."

Pazima grins and begins to do a simple braid. "Just like Braidsilee…" Pazima says under her breath, remembering her best friend's thin braids that would fill her long blonde hair every day.

"What mummy?"

"Oh, nothing, sweetie. Just remembering a friend. A very, very brave friend."

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"Madge dear- what are you wearing on your blouse?" Noraleen Undersee approaches her daughter as she prepares to head out the door for school.

Madge turns pink and removes the golden mockingjay pin from her shirt. "I'm sorry mom, I was going to borrow you're pin…it's so pretty and it looked nice with outfit." Madge hands the pin back into the palm of her mother. Noraleen examines her sister's mockingjay pin and turns it over in her fingers.

"You know Madge, this pin was you're aunt's."

"Really? Aunt Maysilee?"

"Yes. She was a wonderful person. So very smart and courageous. You would have really liked her, Madge." Madge looks at the pin with desiring eyes. "You know what? Here. You can keep the pin, honey. Just promise to take care of it, and it's yours to keep." Noraleen pins the mockingjay back onto her daughter's shirt. "And maybe when the time comes you can pass it on to someone you believes is as courageous and deserving of the pin."

Madge smiles and hugs her mother. "Okay mom."

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Haymitch Abernathy was nearly drunk. He sat at his kitchen table in silence. He preferred to keep all the lights in his Victors Village house off. The rain was coming down harder and harder. Haymitch liked the rain. He used to hate it as a child, but after depending on it in the Hunger Games, he always appreciated it. Haymitch took another gulp of liquor and grunted.

The rain also brought back memories. Painful memories. Haymitch couldn't help but think that he was suppose to die in the Arena. He had nothing now. Because of the stunt he had pulled in the Games...Haymitch had no family left. All murdered by the Capitol. And Maysilee...how he wished he could be with her...

She told him she loved him before she died. And Haymitch knew he would always love her too.

But deep down inside Haymitch, a belief he once held so dearly still lived. That everything happens for a reason. Was it really his destiny to be the new District 12 mentor? Coltrane had long passed. What was Haymitch's future?

Haymitch took another huge sip of his vodka and continued to gaze out the stormy window.

* * *

><p>Thanks to all you readers who've followed Maysilee throughout her story! Please review the story as a whole, or what your favorite parts were! Also, I'm planning on writing a prequel in another character's perspective. (Either Ezra, Pazima, Noraleen, Orion, or Haymitch.) Please comment which one you would like to read or any other ideas! Thanks so much for your support! :)<p> 


	18. Big News!

**Hey!** For all of you who followed Maysilee's story, I've been working on a **manga** version of _"May The Odds"_ with Maysilee, Ezra, Haymitch, Orion, Coltrane, and all the rest of the crew! I've been updating frequently on **Deviantart;** So far, I have 32 pages completed. For anyone who is interested in re-reading the story but in **drawn-out anime story** form, check out my Deviantart account,** AliAvian.**

Here is the link to the title page of the manga!  art/May-The-Odds-Cover-Page-370693736

I hope you guys check it out and let me know what you think! Thank you **so** much to everyone who has supported me and followed me with this story!


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